Post-disaster nuclear safety efforts continue
in Japan. As the nation struggles to recover
from the March 11 tsunami and earthquake,
Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan instructed
his cabinet ministers on Tuesday, June 14,
to compile a second relief budget to help
rebuild the devastated northeast. Following
much criticism for his government's delayed
response to the twin disasters and ensuing
nuclear crisis, Prime Minister Kan pledged
that he would resign and is now saying he
will do so once a renewable energy bill and
the second post-disaster budget is passed.
At the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power
plant, radiation problems are growing for
Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) employees
working to bring the reactors under control.
After two men were recently confirmed to have
been exposed to more than double the government-mandated
maximum, TEPCO stated on Monday that six more
workers may have also received radiation doses
exceeding the emergency limit of 250 millisieverts.
The Health and Labor Ministry has instructed
that all personnel be tested for radiation
exposure, with over 1,350 of a total 3,726
who have not yet received medical evaluations.
Concerns over the spreading radiation also
continue to be raised, with TEPCO reporting
on Sunday that radioactive strontium up to
240 times the legal limit was found in seawater
near the plant. The radioactive substance
was also found in groundwater for the first
time near reactors No. 1 and No. 2. This isotope
can accumulate in bones, causing leukemia
and other types of cancer. With more than
105,000 tons of highly radioactive water that
have built up in the nuclear plant, TEPCO
says it may run out of storage space within
2 weeks. Early on Tuesday, after a four-day
delay, testing began on a device for decontaminating
radioactive water. Recent samples from the
Pacific Ocean, 30 kilometers from the facility,
were found to be contaminated with radioisotopes
at ten times higher levels than those measured
in the Baltic and Black Seas during the 1986
Chernobyl disaster. Fears of radiation effects
have been further amplified with the discovery
of a baby rabbit born with the birth defect
of no ears just outside the extended 30-kilometer
exclusion zone. On Tuesday, Japan’s cabinet
approved a plan that would assist TEPCO in
compensating tens of thousands of victims
affected by the crisis. The measure now awaits
approval from Parliament, with terms that
include TEPCO’s eventual repayment of all
funds received.
Overseas in Italy, as the first country to
hold a referendum on her energy policy, an
overwhelming majority of citizens voted in
favor of giving up nuclear energy. Italian
Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who had
wished to restart nuclear plants shut down
in the 1980s, admitted that nuclear power
is out as he stated, “The will of Italians
is clear on all the subjects of this consultation.
The government and parliament must now respond
fully.” Meanwhile, Switzerland’s National
Council on Wednesday decided to shut down
the nation’s nuclear power plants by 2034
and find another way to generate nearly 40%
of the country’s energy. In the midst of
such concerns about nuclear safety, Russia
is proceeding with construction of the world’s
first floating nuclear power plant, designed
to supply electricity to up to 45,000 people.
With plans for this and other nuclear floating
facilities to be placed in regions like the
earthquake and volcano-prone Kamchatka Peninsula,
environmental groups such as Greenpeace have
been speaking out about their potential hazards.
Our appreciation, Japanese and international
governments, personnel, and individuals striving
to avert the hazardous nuclear crisis. May
our concerted efforts toward more eco-conscious
lifestyles assist in fostering safety and
harmony for all�
