Ocean Contamination in the Wake of Japan's 3.11 Disaster by
Miguel Quintana Radioactive particles released after the
accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant continue
to spread along the seashore and rivers of eastern Japan,
creating underwater hotspots as far as Tokyo Bay, according to
recent scientific studies. But the full magnitude and impact of
the contamination, already considered the largest case of
unintended1 marine pollution by radionuclides in history, has
yet to be established. Experts have pointed out four main routes
of ocean contamination, namely the initial atmospheric fallout,
direct releases from the plant, rivers draining particles that
fell over land, and groundwater. Only the first two categories
have been quantified so far. Initial Assessments of Fallout at
Sea Estimates regarding the total amount of cesium-137 (half-
life of 30 years) released into the ocean remain subject to
debate. France’s Radioprotection and Nuclear Safety Institute
(IRSN) estimated in October that direc