The past March 11, 2011 will always be remembered by everyone, especially by the Japanese. It is the day of the most intense earthquake in the entire history of the country. It was 9.1 on the Richter scale and created a 15-meter tsunami that struck the entire northwestern coast of Japan. Since the earthquake was devastating, the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant it ran out of power and triggered the core meltdown of 3 of its 6 reactors.
In this article we are going to review the Ten years after the Fukushima accident
Serious injury
Despite the fact that we have learned from failures throughout history, there are still many serious wounds to close. Fukushima is marked by the rest of the history of nuclear power that was a man-made disaster. There is still a contaminated area that will take decades to clean up, a plant whose dismantling raises questions about possible problems and thousands of cubic meters of toxic waste that have accumulated without a solution. There are also legal problems and a deep mistrust of the population about nuclear energy.
Almost 2.500 people are still officially missing. To the fatalities are added 6.000 people with serious injuries and damages worth about 235.000 billion euros not including all the cleanup of Fukushima Daiichi and its surroundings. At that time, half a million residents were evacuated from included in the forced emptying area 20 kilometers around the nuclear power plant. Now there are 36.000 people who are still unable to return, although many think that the real figure may be much higher than the official figure.
State aid for all those forced to leave and the plant operator's communications for all evacuees have run out. The damage remains quite serious even a decade after the disaster. One of the cities completely within the mandatory evacuation zone suffered the most. Hardly any people have been able to fully rebuild their lives after this disaster.
Aftermath of the Fukushima nuclear accident
It is evident that a nuclear disaster of this magnitude generates numerous psychological after-effects, while other physical illnesses such as hypertension and diabetes have become much more common due to stress. In the exclusion zone, there is 2.4% which is still an area of difficult return due to the existence of large amounts of radioactive waste which can cause death. There are also some concerns about the health of the areas that have been opened during this time.
Greenpeace has denounced that 85% of the entire decontamination area for which the government is responsible it still shows toxic levels of cesium that can be dangerous to the people who live there. However, the Japanese government assures that all health risks are under control and that the areas that have been opened are completely safe. It is attempting to convey a message of reassurance at the Olympic Games so that they can become the perfect showcase for the area's recovery. The Olympic torch relay will begin later this month in Fukushima. The route to Tokyo will host several of the competitions. Experts reveal that no harmful effects on the health of residents attributable to radiation exposure have been found.
Social solidarity
This is where social solidarity comes in. It is important that there is solidarity on the part of the people who have not suffered this catastrophe. Evacuees should be encouraged to return as Tokyo It has invested nearly $ 27.000 billion in decontamination of buildings, roads, and other surfaces. It has also included the removal of millions of square meters of the topsoil and vegetation that have accumulated in the mountains of black plastic bags that are still pending to know how to store them in the long term.
All authorities try to attract companies in both the technological and fishing sectors, among others. Rebuilding Tohoku is critical so that all of Japan can be revitalized. We must promote the recovery of the entire economy and populations. Arguably the most serious problem so far is the dismantling of Fukushima. And is that the most controversial thing there is is the process of removing the molten fuel from the reactors. It may cost close to $ 750.000 billion and will not possibly be completed until 2050.
Some studies and reviews have found higher-than-expected radiation levels in the provisional casings of two of the reactors. There is still no real assessment of the state of the molten fuel in the debris, but all the possible plans are quite dangerous. Many people think the news is being made up to make the population feel much calmer.
Today the most immediate problem is that It is not known what to do with the contaminated water. The contaminated water was used to cool the reactors and that which has leaked underground despite the installation of an ice barrier. The nuclear plant has a processing system that helps eliminate most of the radioactive elements that are dangerous. However, it cannot remove tritium, which is an isotope of hydrogen that occurs naturally in the environment.
The government advocates pouring the polluted waters into the Pacific gradually over the next few decades, although the proposal has been completely opposed by the fact that the fishing sector begins to raise its head in this area. If the polluted waters are dumped there could be another worse disaster.
With all this we make a brief summary of the news after the 10 years of the Fukushima accident.