![]() ![]() Radioactive material released into the atmosphere was carried northwest by the wind and then deposited in rainfall, highly contaminating the area inland from the plant. The contamination spread throughout Fukushima on March 15–16. In the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in 1986, a fire and meltdown occurred after the initial blast Honma noted that the material released there differed considerably from what was seen in the Fukushima disaster. These were emitted in a “radioactive plume,” a combination of radioactive gas and aerosol. The major types of radiation were iodine-131, with 1.6×10 17 becquerels released, and cesium-137 at 1.5×10 16 becquerels. In his presentation, “Radioactive Contamination of the Environment and Radiation Doses to the Public,” Honma noted that the atmospheric release of radioactive material from Reactors 1–3 occurred mainly from March 12 through 22. Honma Toshimitsu of the Japan Atomic Energy Agency. The session included speeches from three presenters: Honma Toshimitsu of the Japan Atomic Energy Agency, Kamiya Kenji of Hiroshima University, and Sakai Kazuo of Japan’s National Institute of Radiological Sciences. Session I of the symposium, “Facts of Fukushima”-cochaired by Takenoshita Seiichi of Fukushima Medical University and Maekawa Kazuhiko of the University of Tokyo-summarized the events in Fukushima from March 11 onward. Decontamination of the broad area where radioactive material has fallen is underway, but results remain limited. Some residents of other regions began to evacuate voluntarily, while radioactive material spreading throughout the atmosphere began to be dispersed by the wind. The evacuation zone was extended to a 10 kilometer radius on the morning of March 12, and to 20 kilometers that evening. The evacuation zone covered residents within a 3 kilometer radius of the plant, and evacuation was complete at the time of the hydrogen explosions at Reactor 1. The first evacuation orders were issued to nearby residents on the night of March 11. ![]() In the structure housing Reactor 4, which was undergoing planned maintenance, it was the pool containing spent fuel rods that lost its cooling ability, leading to hydrogen explosions on March 15. There were also sounds of explosions near Reactor 2 on March 15. In the afternoon of March 12 a hydrogen explosion ripped through the structure housing Reactor 1, and two days later another blast hit Reactor 3. Having lost their cooling ability, the reactors saw rising temperatures. At the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, the reactors were shut down for safety as soon as the tremors were detected, but Reactors 1 and 4 later lost all power due to the tsunami. ![]() Directly following the quake, a massive tsunami struck broad swaths of the Pacific coast of the Tōhoku region. Sasakawa Yōhei, chairman of the Nippon Foundation, spoke about why the symposium site had been selected: “We wanted to do what little we could to help ease the heartache and fear of the people of Fukushima.”īefore presenting some of the many highlights of the symposium discussions, let us first look back on exactly what happened in Fukushima.Īt 2:46 pm on March 11, 2011, an immense earthquake calculated at magnitude 9.0 struck. While similar forums have typically been closed to the public, this gathering invited media coverage and was streamed live over the Internet. The symposium began with a moment of silence for the victims of the disaster. An Open Discussion of Radiation and Health Risks Some 40 experts in radiation and nuclear power gathered at Fukushima Medical University to hold six sessions following the keynote speech by Akashi Makoto of the National Institute of Radiological Sciences, Japan. On September 11–12, 2011, an international expert symposium titled “Radiation and Health Risks” was held to gather specialists from Japan and abroad to identify the health effects of the radiation exposure from the disaster. Meanwhile, the residents of Fukushima Prefecture still live in fear. Workers continue to struggle with the disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, caused by the earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011. ![]()
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