nuclear-news

The impact of the Fukushima nuclear catastrophe continues

3 ways the Fukushima nuclear disaster is still having an impact today  WP, By Rick Noack March 12  “…….In 2015, has the world forgotten the threat that was posed by Fukushima? Here are three ways the disaster is still having an impact today.

1. The Fukushima disaster itself is far from being over

Although about 6,000 employees have returned to the Daiichi power plant to work there daily, its ruins still pose a significant threat. Nuclear radiation remains dangerous in and around the destroyed reactors. Villages in its proximity will remain a no-go zone for inhabitants for an unpredictably long time.

The nuclear power plant itself is far from being secured: Its owner TEPCO has so far been unable to remove hundreds of fuel rods stored nearby because the 2011 earthquake destabilized or destroyed large parts of the buildings. Furthermore, radiation continues to contaminate underground water.

Despite the contamination of large swaths of land, agricultural products and water resources, Japan’s government remains convinced that nuclear energy will be an inevitable energy source for the country in the future.

According to some surveys, 70 percent of Japan’s population opposed a reliance on nuclear energy. However, the Japanese government under the leadership of Shinzō Abe has decided to restart many of the country’s troubled nuclear power plants…….the Japanese government seems to have put economic growth above nuclear safety…..

2. Fukushima has provided opponents of nuclear power with strong arguments……

3. Germany has decided to abandon nuclear energy…..the German government has worked on a long-term strategy to make it independent from nuclear energy as well as coal in the future……support for Merkel’s decision has always been high.http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2015/03/12/3-ways-the-fukushima-nuclear-disaster-is-still-having-an-impact-today/

March 13, 2015 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | general