Post-disaster nuclear safety efforts continue.
As of Friday, May 13, Japan’s National Police
Agency confirmed over 15,000 fatalities from
the devastating 9.0-magnitude quake and tsunami
in March, as well as two deadly aftershocks
in April. Over 500 survivors perished in the
subsequent two months, many from a combination
of stress and fatigue. Some 115,500 displaced
persons are still staying in shelters with
no privacy, mostly in the worst-hit Iwate,
Miyagi, and Fukushima prefectures. Moreover,
nearly 80,000 people have been unable to return
to their homes that are located within 20
kilometers of the disaster-stricken Fukushima
Daiichi plant. Tens of thousands other residents
may also be evacuated from towns further away
as radiation levels are expected to rise along
with long-term cancer risk.
At the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant,
the crisis triggered by the twin disasters
continues, and on Thursday, the operator Tokyo
Electric Power Company (TEPCO) stated that
the No. 1 reactor is believed to be in a state
of meltdown. Most of the fuel rods may have
melted and fallen to the bottom of the reactor,
creating one or more holes which led to a
leak of highly radioactive water into the
containment vessel. With less than half of
the 10,000 tons of water injected into the
reactor since the initial disasters still
remaining in the reactor or its container
vessel, the company is now also searching
for the source of the dangerously contaminated
water.
On Saturday, a contract worker collapsed and
died after working in the plant for two days.
Medical examination revealed no traces of
radiation, with the cause of death thought
to be exhaustion.
The Japanese government has also announced
it is shutting down 35 of its 54 nuclear reactors
by the end of May. The nuclear accident at
the Fukushima Daiichi plant also prompted
the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Wednesday
to ask American utilities to present their
plans for handling similarly extreme events
by June 10.
We appreciate the protective efforts of the
Japanese and US governments, officials, and
nuclear experts. Our prayers that such hazardous
conditions are soon minimized as humanity
chooses gentler, more Earth-protecting ways�
