The “Land of the Rising Sun†is facing the wrath of nature. It has now been compounded with a dangerous emergency that has never been seen before. Japan is staring in the face of a major radioactive leak.
The Fukushima nuclear plant has reported radiation levels that are 15,000 times higher than the accepted levels immediately after the earthquake. The plant processes nuclear fuel and 2 of its reactors were intentionally made to explode in order to release the pressure from the inner core. Thousands of citizens residing around the affected area have been asked to stay inside their homes and avoid the rains.
Hiromu Nonaka, the Chief Cabinet Secretary, has stated that abnormal reactions may still be continuing inside the nuclear facility. The probability of a “critical incident†having occurred there can’t be denied and there is increasing concern about the radiation levels in the nearby areas. So far three workers have been admitted to the hospital on the 12th and on the 14th another 12 people were severely hurt.
Under the shadow of the largest disaster since the atomic bomb, the perspective of a nuclear accident about to happen as a consequence of the largest earthquake in the history of the modern Japan frightens the entire international community.
There is much speculation about the cause of this leak but it is being assumed that the uranium reached a critical point even though the plant had automatically shut down after the quake. Reports say that the lack of electricity may have been responsible for this, making the water cooling system no longer capable to maintain the low temperature of the plant’s nuclear core.
Almost 6 square kilometers of area around the affected plant has been cordoned off and is considered forbidden zone due to the high levels of radiation. The latest news state clearly that a reactor explosion at Fukushima is imminent.
There have been major nuclear plant accidents around the world including Chernobyl explosion ( Ukraine 1986) and Three Mile Island ( Pennsylvania), but experts agree that this incident in Japan may turn out to be the worst ever incident of nuclear radiation leak.
Japan has increasingly turned towards private nuclear power plants to meet its power needs, especially after the 1973 oil crisis. The country depends for its entire oil fuel needs on other countries, thus needed to be able to produce much of its power with the help of nuclear power production plants. Currently these plants were supplying about 42% of their need.
There have been previous incidents of leaks and high radiation levels in surrounding areas of these nuclear power plants but nothing has come close to the current scale of disaster.
A nuclear disaster at Fukushima would be the largest ecological disaster of this nature. The world trembles at the thought of the third largest world economy being crushed by the mighty nature and the fearsome consequences of its wrath.
