The remains of what was once a roughly
semicircular pattern of ancient, inscribed
rocks [are] planted upright in the ground a few
miles from the shoreline in northeastern Japan.
These monoliths, probably 600 years old, are all
graven with the same image, written in a
long-forgotten Asian dialect. Scholars pooled
resources for centuries, trying to decipher the
message, seeing success some 30 years ago. Very
roughly translated, the inscription reads "Don't
even think of building anything between here and
the ocean." A thin layer of water-borne silt
underneath the topsoil, ending about where the
stones are placed, attests to the fact that a
tsunami wave once washed this far inland.
From "Atomic
Accidents," by James Mahaffey (page 378), 2014 |
A Dozen Years
After Fukushima, Nuclear Power is Still a Death Wish
The plant still daily irradiates 150 tons of water, which must be
treated and stored forever. By Harvey Wasserman, March 10,
2023
Court orders ex-Tepco execs to pay $95 billion damages over
Fukushima disaster
The court found that the
executives could have prevented the disaster if they had
exercised due care. The damages are to be paid to the
company. Reuters, July 13, 2022
The Fukushima disaster ruined their lives
On October 22, 2021, Kenichi Hasegawa died of thyroid
cancer, almost certainly caused by prolonged exposure to
radioactive iodine released by the nuclear catastrophe.
Numerous others died from radiation in his village of Iitate
as well. By Linda Pentz Gunter, Beyond Nuclear
International, March 6, 2022
6 People to sue TEPCO over thyroid cancer after Fukushima
nuclear disaster It will be the first
group lawsuit in Japan by those who were minors at the time
of the disaster and have since been diagnosed with thyroid
cancer. The Mainichi (Japan), January 21, 2022
Thyroid cancer in Fukushima children increased 20-fold
Some Japanese still live in regions contaminated by fallout
from Fukushima. Childhood thyroid cancer, normally extremely
rare, has been detected at much higher rates. By Dr. Alex
Rosen, International Physicians for the Prevention of
Nuclear War, May 23, 2021
The Pacific Ocean is not Japan's nuclear dumpsite
A regional collective of young Pacific activists condemns
Japan's plans to dump millions of tons of radioactive
Fukushima wastewater in the Pacific. The Fukushima
catastrophe endangers not only human life and health, but
that of the Pacific Ocean, the lifeline of Pacific
islanders. By
Youngsolwara Pacific
(a regional movement of Pacific activists), May 2, 2021
Japan Hasn’t Recovered 10 Years After Fukushima Meltdown
The UN estimates that thousands of fatalities will occur
from radiation contamination resulting from the catastrophe.
Others believe that upwards of 100,000 deaths will result
from radioactive microparticles strewn into the environment.
By Arne Gunderson, Truthout, March 11, 2021
Latest UN Report on the Fukushima Nuclear Disaster
The UN report's conclusion that there are no observed
ill-health effects from the catastrophe is inconsistent with
the agency's own estimates of high collective doses from the
accident. The UN report further concludes that the large
observed increase in thyroid cancers in Japan since 2011 was
due not to thyroid intake of of iodine isotopes from the
accident but from increased surveillance. However, the large
exposure increases are also published in this new UN report.
These exposures suggest about 38,000 thyroid cancer case due
to the accident, resulting in an estimated 3000 fatalities
will have occurred as a result. By Dr. Ian Fairlie, March
10, 2021
How dangerous is the Fukushima nuclear plant today?
A decade ago, a massive tsunami crashed into the Fukushima
Daiichi nuclear power plant. Three of its reactors melted
down, leaving it looking like a bombed-out factory.
Emergency workers risked their lives trying to keep one of
history’s worst nuclear crises from spiraling out of
control. Deep inside the plant, danger still lurks.
Officials don’t know exactly how long the cleanup will take,
whether it will be successful and what might become of the
land where the plant sits.
Indian Today,
March 14, 2021
Citizens' Radiation Data Map of Japan
Radiation contamination is not limited to Fukushima
Prefecture. One hundred years from now there will still be
several highly contaminated areas where humans should not
live. Meanwhile, the government has yet to establish a
criterion for for radioactive soil contamination. The
authorities are continuing to enforce the policy of
compelling people to return to their homes if the air dose
rate goes below 20 mSv/year. Beyond Nuclear International,
December 20, 2020
Japan's New Environmental Minister Calls for
Closing Down All Nuclear Reactors to Prevent Another
Disaster Like Fukushima
"We will be doomed if we allow another nuclear accident to
occur." By Jessica Corbett, Common Dreams, September
12, 2019
Manipulated childhood cancer data hides radiation impact,
harms public health protection
As the Fukushima nuclear catastrophe unfolded
in March 2011, experts began studying the impact of
radioactivity, particularly radioiodine, on children's
health. After Chernobyl, it took nearly a decade for
official experts to admit what data were revealing: exposure
to radioiodine, one of the nuclides released from nuclear
power disasters, increases thyroid cancer. During Fukushima
releases, experts had claimed that thyroid exposures
wouldn't be high enough to dispense potassium iodide to the
public for protection. Subsequently, these same experts were
put in charge of studies examining radioiodine's impact.
Missing, and misused, data from these reports are now
influencing future international response to radioiodine
exposure. Beyond Nuclear, July 19, 2019
The Hoax That Nuclear Power Is Green
At 20:00 into this video: It is costing
between $500 billion and $1 trillion to remedy the Fukushima
disaster. That is $1 to $2 billion per nuclear reactor in
the world, just due to this disaster. One and a half per
cent of all nuclear reactors ever built have melted down to
some degree.
Conference on Financial and Environmental Dangers of NY's
$7.6 billion Nuclear Bailout, and Soaring Cancer Rates Near
Nuclear Reactors. Organized by Radiation and Public Health
Project. (30-minute video by Karl Grossman,
EnviroVideo) July 2019
Should GE’s Mark 1 Nuclear Reactor Be
Recalled Worldwide Like a Faulty Unsafe Automobile?
The Mark 1 failed
catastrophically at Fukushima. There are also 35 other such
reactors in the world, including 23 in the US. GE engineers
who helped design this reactor model, and who later quit
because they realized the design was not safe, are
interviewed in this article/video. EnviroNews,
September 11, 2017
TEPCO announces that it will dump 770,000 tons of
radioactive tritium water into the Pacific Ocean
Once tritium (half life about
12.5 years) travels up the food chain it becomes even more
dangerous to life. When incorporated
into animal or plant tissue and digested by humans, tritium
can stay in the body for 10 years or more. Internally
exposed individuals can expect to be chronically exposed to
the toxic impacts of this carcinogen for years to come.
By Dahr Jamail, Truthout, August 18, 2017
Near miss at Fukushima is a warning for U.S., panel says
Thanks to a lucky break, spent fuel stored at the reactors
did not catch fire and send a radioactive plume across much
of eastern Japan, including Tokyo. But it easily could have,
and a report by the U.S. National Academies should serve as
a wake-up call for the nuclear industry.
Science Magazine, May 20,
2016
Beyond Nuclear
Until the Fukushima accident, Japan had 55 operating nuclear
reactors as well as enrichment and reprocessing plants which
had suffered a series of deadly accidents at its nuclear
facilities resulting in the deaths of workers and releases
of radioactivity into the environment and surrounding
communities. Since the Fukushima disaster, there is growing
opposition to re-opening those reactors closed for
maintenance.
Fukushima Response
Mobilizing a global effort to deal with the ongoing nuclear
catastrophe in Japan.
Are We Safer Now?
The
Future of Nuclear Power in the Northwest 3.5 Years After
Fukushima. Presentation by Dr. Edwin Lyman, Senior
Scientist, Union of Concerned Scientists, October 2014
(Power Point slide show)
Audio presentation to accompany the slide show
(starts at about 2:20)
Fukushima: The Story of a Nuclear Disaster
Union of Concerned
Scientists, September 3, 2014
What if the Fukushima nuclear fallout crisis had happened
here? Interactive map. Enter an
Eastern Washington zip code (such as 99301) to see the area
projected to be covered by the radioactive plume. Natural
Resources Defense Council, September 2014
Costs and Consequences of the Fukushima Daiichi Disaster
By Steven Starr, Physicians for Social Responsibility,
2011
Soft Energy Paths for the 21st Century
Japan's
Ministry of Foreign Affairs asked Amory Lovins to outline
his reaction to the Fukushima disaster and his suggestions
for Japanese and U.S. energy policy It's a timely
contribution to the rapidly growing movement in Japan to
accelerate the strategic shift from nuclear power to
efficiency and renewables, as Germany is already doing—an
approach consistent with sound economics. July 30, 2011
(PDF)
Nuclear
Regulatory Commission report on lessons from Fukushima
July 12, 2011
