Fukushima Daiichi, Nuclear Power, Nuclear Weapons March 11,
2013Posted by Lofty Ambitions in Science. Tags: Nuclear Weapons,
Radioactivity 1 comment so far Today marks the second
anniversary of the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear
power plant in Japan. Along with the Chernobyl accident in 1986,
it is designated as a level 7 on the International Nuclear Event
Scale. The amount of radioactive contaminants released during
Japan’s accident is, however, far less than in Russia’s. Also,
recent predictions for health consequences suggest that the rise
in cancer rates and deaths in Japan may be less than initially
expected, according to the World Health Organization, in part
because the accident occurred over time and many people had fled
the tsunami and thereby avoided early and extended exposure. The
uptick in cancer rates—thyroid cancer, breast cancer,
leukemia—is most likely for the children of the area. The
Japanese government predicts that the cleanup effort will take
forty years. Please read our regul