...Final Paper PBHE540 The Fukushima Nuclear Disaster Name American Public University System Abstract On March 11, 2011, a large earthquake and a powerful tsunami struck the eastern region of Japan, leading to a death toll of more than 15,700 people. Thousands more were injured or went missing, and widespread destruction ensued. Additionally, the Great East Japan Disaster fatally damaged the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power station. It eradicated all power, severely affected communications, and caused a loss of cooling to some vital reactor cores. Significant quantities of radioactive materials were released, an isolated “no mans land” was created around the crippled reactors, and thousands of people had to be evacuated from the surrounding area. With concern of radiological emergency management, medicine development, and healthcare implementation, it is important to assess this disaster with intention of learning better methods of execution to apply in future scenarios. The purpose of this assessment is to summarize, observe, and evaluate the emergency responses implemented as a result of the disaster, specifically focusing on the chronology of healthcare implementation, and the many long-term challenges associated with this tragic event. In preparing for the challenges of tomorrow, it is critically important that adaptations are made in lieu of such tragedies, and newer, more advanced understandings of these issues are brought into fruition...
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...Fukushima Radiation Causes Growing National Concern: Time for New EPA Policy Eric Zoppi 3279672 2 December 2013 On March 11th, 2011 the Tōhoku earthquake and the resulting tsunami wreaked havoc upon Japan. Unfortunately, this natural disaster resulted in the largest nuclear disaster since Chernobyl, as the tsunami crippled the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. Following this severe breach in security, numerous radioactive isotopes and radioactive particles were released into the environment, specifically the Pacific Ocean and the surrounding air/atmosphere, thus contaminating groundwater, soil and seawater, as well as effectively shutting down a myriad of Japanese fisheries. The ocean and air mainly came in contact with high levels of Iodine-131, Cesium-137, and Cesium-134, as well as lower levels of Tellurium, Uranium, and Strontium, which were concentrated closer to the surrounding area of the nuclear power plant. However, the impact that these radioactive materials will have upon the United States, in particular, has caused quite the national controversy. Despite heavy national acceptance of the occurrence of the disaster, two popular and opposing hypotheses have formed as a result of the Media’s lack of focus on recent analyses of the impending effects of Fukushima Disaster upon the U.S.: (1) the radioactive material that leaked as a result of the TEPCO nuclear power plant failure will not have a drastic, threatening...
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...1. Excusive Summary On March 11, 2011 the unpredicted earthquake and tsunami caused serious nuclear accident in Japan. However, it was triggered by unexpected natural disaster, the accident can be avoided if there exist a sound risk management cycle to identify the risks within this project and put a risk management plan in place. What’s more, the influence of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster would be reduced through proper crisis management procedures. There are three major key risk issues findings about the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster. The first one is risk identification problems in risk management cycle. The second risk issue is failure in avoiding crisis. The last point discusses communication problems in containing crisis. The damages can be reduced and the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster can be avoided if TEPCO management make further research in risk identification process, spend more effort in avoiding crisis rather than only focus on profit generating activities. When the crisis happened properly communicate with government and ensure information transparency help protect the public images of the firm, After in depth research about the case of Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster and compare with Three Mile Island nuclear power plant accidents. This report draws lessons from the cases and provides several recommendations for the Fukushima Daiichi and the Japanese government. , 2. Introduction and Aims There are numerous business risks and the...
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...ACCT 5919 – Fukushima – An Analysis of Risk Management Issues ACCT 5919 – Business Risk Management Fukushima – An Analysis of Risk Management Issues Page 1 of 11 ACCT 5919 – Fukushima – An Analysis of Risk Management Issues 1.0 Executive Summary On 11th March 2011, Japan witnessed the second largest earthquake with a magnitude of 9.0 with its epicentre at Tohoku. The earthquake gave rise to a Tsunami which hit the Fukushima nuclear reactor run by The Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO). The disaster escalated by triggering a series of power and equipment failures, explosions, nuclear meltdowns and release of radioactive material. The disaster was regarded as a manmade disaster which could have been avoided with appropriate human response as stated by the chairman of NAIIC, Professor Kiyoshi Kurokawa (Bloomberg, 2012). TEPCO lacked a sense of responsibility to ensure safety and protection to the people effected by the disaster. The nuclear incident was caused by poor earthquake safety planning and faulty post-tsunami communication. The collusion between TEPCO and the regulators resulted in there being no separation of atomic regulation and promotion which led to nuclear power become unstoppable force immune to scrutiny. TEPCO, government and the regulators failed to develop the most basic safety requirements like assessing the probability of damage, preparing for containment of collateral damage, and developing evacuation plans. The lack of training...
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...Nuclear Powers Carlethia Gordon SCI207: Dependence of Man on the Environment Instructor: Brain Maybruck 7/23/2012 Nuclear power is the use of nuclear fission to generate heat and electricity.(Wikipedia) There are about 6% of Nuclear power plants in the world that provide energy and about 14% that provide electricity.(Wikipedia) There have been two Nuclear power plant accidents they range from the past to the future. One is the Chernobyl disaster that appeared in 1986 and the Fukushima Daiichi disaster that happened in 2011. As read this essay briefly you will read about both disasters and how they both drew a conclusion about the risk and rewards of the nuclear energy. On April 26th, 1986 the Chernobyl disaster occurred at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine. (Wikipedia) There was an explosion and fire released a large amount of radioactive contamination into the atmosphere. (Wikipedia) Studies show that this was the worst nuclear power plant accident in history. There was a total of thirty-one deaths reported. This was a test that had gone bad. The battle to take control of the contamination took over 500,000 workers and cost 18 billion dollars. (Wikipedia) The operators were to blame after there was an investigation. Because of the explosion there will be a lot of health problems that will occur according to the studies of The Union of Concerned Scientist. The Fukushima Daiichi Disaster was a series of nuclear meltdowns, equipment...
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...Business Risk Management Fukushima Daiichi – Nuclear Disaster Pedro Eza ID number: z3366523 Executive Summary Fukushima crisis management showed system failures from the public and private actors that led to overall human error and opened a continuous debate within international community about holding nuclear plants under public hands rather than private ones whose incentives clearly differ from the public interest: * The Government and regulatory agencies failed to push Tepco to heed several anomalies and warnings causing the operator to be unprepared at an operational risk level evidencing an embarrassing incompetency to make decisions. * Tepco, as this report will prove below, lacked a culture of safety failing to respond effectively to subsequent events after the accident. For all these, the need to build an adequate resilience framework within the nuclear industry covering the main pillars: Crisis Management, Disaster Recovery, Business Continuity and Emergency Management, are paramount within risk management. Case’s Background On March 11, 2011, Japan suffered an earthquake of magnitude 9.0 with an epicenter near...
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...The Land Rising Again On March 11, 2011, an earthquake measuring a magnitude of 9.0 occurred off the coast of Honshu. The earthquake produced a tsunami that affected mostly Sendai and would take the lives of thousands of people and more in injuries. Fukushima Daiichi is declared a nuclear disaster when a meltdown of the reactors in the nuclear power station left contamination in the water, land, and air. In the aftermath of the tsunami of March 11, 2011, the people of Japan have not only the challenge of redevelopment but the safety from Fukushima and strength to build a healthy psychological future. When Fukushima Daiichi was designed and built with information of tsunami hazard, there were no known large tsunamis that hit that particular part of the coast (Noggerath 39). Once the news of the nuclear disaster was being announced it brought a series of new tragedies to the community. They were evacuated from the surrounding area of the nuclear plant because of the release of radioactive materials. Many are not able to come back to their homes due to the decaying contaminates emitting radiation. Although evacuations were set forth immediately, those that have been exposed will suffer a great deal of health problems. Cancer and tumors are likely for those who were exposed to high levels of radiation. Other problems facing many is the psychological repercussions leading to “stress related symptoms such as depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder...
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...Sunflowers in Fukushima Fukushima, Japan, faced a terrible outlook as of March, 2011. After the devastation of an earthquake, tsunami and a nuclear power meltdown, the city was left with a huge cleanup not for the faint hearted with radioactive isotopes filling the air, water and earth beneath them. With terrible agricultural and medical consequences looming, scientists had to act fast and on a very large scale. Using lessons from Chernobyl, scientists have enlisted the assistance of sunflowers and their fast growing capabilities. Could sunflowers be the ray of hope for this country left devastated? Sunflowers in Fukushima How Fukushima became contaminated Similar in severity to Chernobyl’s 1986 Nuclear Disaster, in March, 2011, Fukushima and the surrounding area went into crisis. Fukushima was hit hard with an earthquake followed by a tsunami which breached the power plant and lead to disaster. With safety measures catastrophically failing, pressure was building in Fukushima Daiichi and engineers had no choice but to open the unfiltered vents to release the pressure from the reactor (Bunn / Heinonen, 2011). Overall the disaster was a series of safety failures, equipment failures and nuclear meltdown which all resulted in the release of radioactive materials into the environment. Consequences of contaminated soil Soil containing radioactive isotopes is particularly concerning to humans in the immediate area. Due to the agricultural aspect of Fukushima, farming...
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...Nuclear tools are strikingly powerful. For each kilogram of petrol, nuclear fission gives about a million times more vitality than chemical fire or high explosive. (Saha, 2004) However, this splitting process has the need of free neutrons that are only present within a working receptacle. If not, then there is only radioactive growth and this radioactivity cannot spread by contamination, like fire or disease. In a severe nuclear accident in a common area, the heat unleashed by this perish can put an end to a reactor. A lot of people who get radiation treatment have skin changes and some weakness. Other side effects depend on the part of your body being cured. Skin changes may include dryness, burning, peeling, or blistering. These changes take place because radiation therapy compensates healthy skin cells in the treatment area. In 2011 about 19,000 people were lost...
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...Nuclear power and hydropower, both are able to produce energy without releasing fossil fuels into the air. They are both inexpensive to run but they are expensive to build. Both of these clean air options have advantages and disadvantages. Nuclear power plants have had some major disasters in the past, which make people hesitant of building more. You have to think about the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster and 20th century Chernobyl nuclear meltdown. We have to consider what is best for our environment and if the risk outweighs the benefits. Hydropower was developed many years ago by the “1900’s it accounted for more than 40 percent of United States electricity.” (BOR, 2009) Hydropower produces clean renewable energy that does not release any greenhouse gases and the water evaporates back into the atmosphere. Cost of running hydropower plant is not expensive and can work for years without needing repairs. They provide recreational area, tourist attraction, and controls flooding. The disadvantages “hydropower facilities can have large environmental impacts by changing the environment and affecting land use, homes, and natural habitats in the dam area.”(Turk & Bensel, 2011) There are high investment costs to build a hydropower plant. Hydropower plants can damage the ecosystem by killing off fish and plants. This can affect the fish and their ability to migrate. Therefore, everything has its drawbacks we have to figure out if it is worth it. Nuclear power plants have...
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...Assessment 1: Risk Management Plan Development and Operation of a Nuclear Power Plant (Taking Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Japan as an example to make a risk management) Student Name : Cong Danh Bui Student ID :11381581 Lecturer : David Eager Abstract This report will give out a risk management plan for the development and operation of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Japan, based on the AS/NZS ISO 31000:2009 standard. The report will begin with the definition of communication and consultation task before coming to the establishing the context, which is to define risks in term of finding the internal and external factors or some risk criteria that influencing in risks management. After that, risk assessment is implemented, including identification, analysis and evaluation. Then, some treatments will be applied to adjust those risk event. Finally, recording the process as well as monitoring and review, the crucial task in every risk management, is done to make sure that the management can bring efficiency in improving the control. Figure 1. Risk Management Process (Source NS/NZS ISO 31000:2009) Word count: 2600 words – excluding abstract, reference and appendix Appendix I. Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………......3 1.1. Power Plant Information……………………………………………………………………...4 1.2. Construction Details…………………………………………………………………………..5 II. Communication and Consultant………………………………………………………………..6 III. Establishing the Context…………………………………………………………...
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...and weakness and how we are going to assist them in the most effective way. Table of Contents Objective 1 Introduction 3 Corporate Summary 3 Crisis Background 4 Oct Year 2004 & July 2007 4 Mar 2011 – Current 4 Impact from the Crisis 6 Analyse the Tokyo Electric Power Company, Incorporated (TEPCO) 7 SWOT Analysis 7 Strength 7 Weakness 8 Opportunities 9 Threat 10 Criteria in Success 12 Conclusion 13 Resources: 14 Introduction Corporate Summary Figure 1.1.1 – Company logo Tokyo Electricity Power Company (TEPCO) is an electricity utility and was established in 1st May 1951. TEPCO is the fourth power company in Asia, operation 17 nuclear reactors and supplying one-third of Japan’s electricity. The first nuclear unit at Fukushima Dai-Chi (Fukushima) nuclear power plant began operational generation on 26th March 1971. During 1980s and 1990s, the widespread use of air-conditional and IT/OA appliances caused a gap between day and night electricity demands. In order to reduce surplus generation capacity and increase capacity utilization, TEPCO developed pumped storage hydroelectricity power plants and promoted thermal storage units. In 2009, TEPCO is expected to play a key role in achieving Japan's targets for reduced carbon dioxide emissions under the Kyoto Protocol. TEPCO launched an extensive sales promotion campaign called “switch”, promoting all-electric housing in order to...
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...ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTANT RADIATION Technology has a significant role in today’s world. It can also affect many peoples’ lives. It makes life easier and more efficient. However in today’s world, there are some who have considered about the danger it may cause. People have started destroying our environment by using destructive weapons to defeat and lead with possession. There is dangerous equipment which had been manufactured throughout the world. Nuclear weapon is one of the most destructive weapons ever made which could really destroy the world in just a moment. It can cause a big effect in our lives as well to our environment. Radiation is an environmental hazard that people tend to worry about only when it is artificially produced (Schneider 336). When atoms combine it can causes a radiation which will affect molecules, cells and tissues. However there are some who think of biological effects of radiation on human body. The atoms unite through a process called ionization. So the biological effects begin with the result of radiation combining with the atoms which develops cells. There are several sources of radiation. In fact, It can be found everywhere. The homes which we live by contain amount of radioactive elements that decay into a chemical element called radon gas. It can leak into our homes which. It can also be found mostly in industry to control measuring equipment. Radiation comes from natural or artificial resources. However it was commonly found in natural...
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...presentation is to illustrate how some companies in Japan used innovation as both an effective marketing tool and a growth engine after the 11.03 disaster. 2 . Tonight we will first take a quick look at what happened in Japan that time, how this nation is looking to the future and then how 4 big Japanese companies responded innovatively as well as what this can mean for us as future business people. 3 Well, most of us were about to enter the university when we‘ve been looking at the images of the disaster coming from Japan. A nine magnitude earthquake followed by a devastating tsunami had as a result tons of debris, thousands of hectares of farmland devastated, a huge cost in direct material damage, a much more serious environmental disaster caused by the meltdown at Fukushima nuclear plant BUT the most shocking figures are the thousands of people that have been evacuated and most of all the nineteen thousands of people being killed by the tsunami. 4 Well, most of us were about to enter the university when we‘ve been looking at the images of the disaster coming from Japan. A nine magnitude earthquake followed by a devastating tsunami had as a result tons of debris, thousands of hectares of farmland devastated, a huge cost in direct material damage, a much more serious environmental disaster caused by the meltdown at Fukushima nuclear plant BUT the most shocking figures are the thousands of people that have been evacuated and...
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...Should we continue to use nuclear power? Nuclear power is the use of nuclear processes to generate useful heat and electricity. The use of nuclear power has become more and more common in the world. Many countries like the United States and France have utilized nuclear power for electricity production for a few decades. Many nuclear power plants in various countries have been under construction. However, many serious nuclear accidents, for example Chernobyl disaster and Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster have occurred continually from the past to the present. Some people argue whether we should continue to use nuclear power for electricity production. It is well-known that using nuclear power for electricity production has many advantages. From the dimension of environmental aspect, nuclear energy has the lowest influence on the environment. Nuclear energy is emission-free so a nuclear plant will not emit any hazardous gases during the process of electricity production. Sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide and other gases which threaten the atmosphere by causing photochemical smog will not be emitted. Also, carbon dioxide and any greenhouse gases which result in global warming will not be emitted. In the whole nuclear power production cycle, there will be only small quantities of waste produced. And all the wastes and by-products produced are safely kept in the container. Also, water discharged from a nuclear plant will not contain harmful pollutants as the water used for cooling...
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