Japan's Nuclear Volcano Erupts
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plunged across Europe, Asia and the United States on Tuesday as the
crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant deepened and Japan’s
Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency raised its radiological event scale
to its highest level.
Conditions at the stricken facility have steadily
deteriorated despite the valiant efforts of emergency workers.
The
station continues to spew lethal amounts of radiation and other toxins
into the atmosphere and around the world. A French nuclear group has
warned that children and pregnant mothers should protect themselves from
the fallout.
According to Euractiv:
"The risks associated with iodine-131 contamination
in Europe are no longer ‘negligible,’ according to CRIIRAD, a French
research body on radioactivity. The NGO is advising pregnant women and
infants against ‘risky behavior,’ such as consuming fresh milk or
vegetables with large leaves."
The group's warning underlines the dangers posed by
the out-of-control facility which is causing unprecedented damage to
earth, sea and sky. But while the disaster continues to grow larger by
the day, the government's only response has been to expand the
evacuation zone and try to shape news to minimize the public backlash.
Emergency crews have braved high levels of radiation
to bring the plant back under control, but with little success. A number
of violent tremors and a second smaller tsunami have made their jobs
nearly impossible. Thousands of gallons of radioactive water that was
used as coolant has been flushed into the sea threatening marine life
and sensitive habitat. The toxic release of radiation now poses an
incalculable risk to the battered fishing industry and to fish-stocks
around the world. This is from an article at Global Research:
"Fish in nearby waters are now being measured at
4,000% above the Codex Alimentarius limits for Iodine-131 and 447% of
Caesium-137. Radioactive caesium has a half-life of 30 years. Radiation
levels for the isotope are not considered “safe” for 10 to 20 times
longer. The caesium released today will remain dangerous six centuries
from now....“Fukushima has become the dirty bomb of the
Pacific"....("Radiation Spreads Worldwide", Freedom Against Censorship
Thailand, Global Research, April 14, 2011)
These costs were never factored in when industry
executives and politicians decided to exploit an energy source that can
cause cancer, pollute the environment for millennia, and bring the
world's third largest economy to its knees.
Raising the alert-rating to its highest level is an
admission that a “major release of radioactive material with widespread
health and environmental effects" has taken place and will likely
continue for some time to come. The situation is getting worse by the
day. Japan's government will now insist on the "implementation of
planned and extended countermeasures.”
In other words, a red alert. The
threat to water supplies, food sources, livestock and humans is grave
and ongoing. The media's efforts to protect the nuclear industry by
downplaying the scale of the catastrophe have been moderately
successful, but public awareness is rising as more people turn to
alternate sources of information. The disaster has been as ruinous to
the media's reputation as it has been to the environment.
This is from Reuters:
"Japan's economics minister warned on Tuesday that
the economic damage from last month's earthquake and tsunami is likely
to be worse than initially thought as power shortages will crimp factory
output and restrict supply chains.
“The more sober assessment came as Japan raised the
severity of its nuclear crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant to
a level 7 from 5, putting it on par with the Chernobyl nuclear disaster
in 1986.
“The Bank of Japan governor said the economy was in a
"severe state," while central bankers were uncertain when efforts to
rebuild the tsunami-ravaged northeast would boost growth, according to
minutes from a meeting held three days after a record earthquake struck
Japan on March 11." ("Japan quake's economic impact worse than first
feared", Reuters, April 14, 2011)
Foreign investors have yet to grasp the full impact
of the crisis on Japan's economy. The Bank of Japan (BOJ) has increased
its bond purchasing program and "launched an ultra-cheap loan scheme for
banks in the area devastated by the quake", but monetary policy alone
will not lead to a recovery. The government will have to initiate
large-scale programs to engage the public while setting aside neoliberal
policies that slash state spending and privatize public assets.
Restoring economic well-being means strong leadership that moves
forcefully in the opposite direction of present trends with the emphasis
on shared sacrifice and community values.
This is from the Wall Street Journal:
“Fukushima Daiichi operator Tokyo Electric Power Co.
warned Tuesday that since the Fukushima Daiichi plant is still releasing
radioactive materials, the total level of radiation released could
eventually exceed that of Chernobyl, a spokesman said.
“The new assessment comes as Japan admits that the
effects of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident—which has already
caused the evacuation of tens of thousands of people and spread
radiation through groundwater and farms over a broad section of eastern
Japan—are likely to be long-lasting and grave.....
“Japanese nuclear regulators determined that after
the accident, the plant has likely released tens of thousands of
terabecquerels—or a mind-boggling tens of thousands of trillions of
becquerels—of radiation in the immediate area. That's a level that's
been recorded only during the Chernobyl accident." ("Japanese Declare
Crisis at Level of Chernobyl", Wall Street Journal)
Experts anticipate that the troubles at Fukushima
will persist for months if not years. In the meantime, life-threatening
levels of toxic radioactive material will be released into the air,
water and soil. Small children and the unborn are at greatest risk, but
incidents of adult thyroid cancer, immune system disorders and other
maladies will increase exponentially as well. The future of the nuclear
industry has never been more uncertain, and for good reason.
Mike Whitney is a frequent contributor to Global Research. Global Research Articles by Mike Whitney
