The nuclear meltdown in Japan have inflicted major damage on the environment. There is a report saying that American aid troops are withdrawing from the nuclear plant after a plume of radiation was detected 100 miles from the reactor core. According to Jan Berenek who is the international head of NGO's anti nuclear campaign, the fukushima nuclear plant is leaking and force to release harmful contaminated gas means that physical protection which isolate the radioactive material from the environment has failed. Fish industry is going be hit hard, the salmon and the other fish are not safe to eat anymore since radiation has affect the ocean as well. The Japan's future generation is also at risk too, due to the exposure of radiation will alter human's DNA chromosomes.
Satellite Image of Fukushima on 17-Mar-2011 The 8.9 magnitude earth quake had inflict some serious disasters to Japan. One of the serious problems that the Japanese government is facing right now is the nuclear reactors meltdown issue in Fukushima 1. One of the reactors in Fukushima is already starting to overheat, therefore there is a good chance that a meltdown could possibly happen. Fukushima 1 (There are two plants in that location) is one of the largest nuclear power plants in the world. There is a huge amount of radioactive material in the plant, so if there is a meltdown occurring, it would not only affect Japan but also other parts of the world as well. There is report indicating that the west coast of US will also be affected, due to the prevailing winds are blowing from Japan and across the pacific ocean to the west coast of America. Any radioactive fallout will make its way to the US with the wind, reaching there around 36 hours.
This picture talks about which direction the jet stream is heading
Even though the nuclear power plant has stop producing energy, It's fuel continues to generate heat and need a stable amount of coolant to stop it fron over heating. As days pass by the situation has not gone any better, a second nuclear reactor in the site has also been affected and only have a few hours of battery left before the cooling system lose it's function. Three nuclear reactors in Fukushima II has also lost it's cooling abilities, temperatures are increasing in a dangerous level. Later on, there is a explosion happened in the no.1 reactor in Fukushima I, some parts of the outer structure of the plant appeared to be blow off. At this rate, Volatile radioactive Cesium -137 content could be release in the air. Cesium -137 is produced from when uranium and plutonium absorb neutrons and undergo fission. It increases the chances of getting cancer. if under serious exposure, serious burns or even death will occur. One might wonder if Japan often have earthquakes occur, why didn't the government upgrade the cooling system of the reactors to prevent meltdowns if there is any chance that the nuclear reactors got damaged from nature disasters ? However, when one think about it the nuclear reactors in Japan are quite well built, because it can actually withstand up to 8.7 magnitude earthquake. Unfortunately, this earthquake's power is more powerful than 8.7.
On March 11, 2011, a terrifying 8.9 scale earthquake occurred in Japan. Despite the fact that earthquakes occur frequently in Japan, the damage done to the country by the this earthquake is unbelievably serious. The 8.9 scale earthquake damaged house properties, buildings, cars, the public transportation system.....etc causing the country to be in a serious state of emergency. To make things worse, there were 50 6.0 aftershocks, and a 23 foot tsunami was unleashed causing numerous life loss, and at least 349 people are missing. Electricity is also down too, due to the fact that the earthquake has damaged the nuclear power plants' cooling system causing them unable to function properly. Some of the nuclear plants were leaking water, so the government has ordered thousands of residents near a nuclear plant in Onahama city to evacuate. At least 200-300 dead bodies were found in the northern city, Sendai, a city in the Miyagi prefecture which is closest to the quake's epic center. Millions have gone missing and the death rate is very likely to increase. The Japanese government was unable to send rations to the parts of japan where damage has been done, due the fact that the earth quake has destroy the roads and paralyze. There have been reports that a few days before the 8.9 earthquake, the Japanese government had already received a number of reports of earth quake occurring near japan. However the government did not issue any warning to the public, and left it as it is. One might ask If the government react faster or evacuate the citizens before the 8.9 earth quake hits them, many lives could be saved. No one has the answer to this question, but thinking in a realistic point of view Japan had so many earth quakes through out the year. No one could of predict that the level of the earth quake could go up to 8.9. Even if they could of predicted the scale of the earthquake, it was very hard to determine the exact location of it.
A video from youtube, showing the destruction power of the tsunami.
