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Nuclear Accident in Japan

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Nuclear Accident in Japan
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The disaster that happened in Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi power station was one rated 7 by the International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale (INES) scale. This means that the disaster had a high radioactive material releases. The disaster was caused by a tsunami ranging to 15 meters The tsunami had been caused by strong earthquake- the strongest earthquake to ever hit Japan. It affected the cooling systems of three Fukushima Daiichi nuclear reactors by stopping the cooling as a result of interruption in the power supply. With no cooling in the reactors, the energy released from radioactive decay rose threatening not to be handled by the containment structures at the plant (Eisler 17). Water exposed to high levels of radiation threatened to damage the containment structure due to hydrogen build up. With damage to the containment structure, the environment was at high risk of full blown radiation contamination. The danger posed by the accident was the accident was the spread of radioactive contamination to water or the environment that the nearby residents came into contact with. This is why the Japanese government budgeted close to $14 billion for the radiation clean up and immediate relocation of residents (Eisler 29). One of the isotopes still found in the accident site is Cesium-137 that decays according to the following equation 55Cs^137 --> 56Ba^137 + -1e^0. The isotope could lead to development of acute radiation syndrome in humans that affects the skin, digestive system and hair (Loveland et.all 45). Cancer can develop as a result of not receiving appropriate radiation treatment.
Nuclear energy is a safe way of producing energy if the right protective measures are taken. In fact, history implies that it rarely causes deaths or illness compared to other methods of producing energy such as using coal (Ferguson & Charles 32). It is 5 times less likely to cause as many deaths as coal energy. However, it is only safe with standard safety procedure being followed to the letter.

Works Cited
Eisler, Ronald. The Fukushima 2011 disaster. Boca Raton: CRC Press, 2013. Print.
Ferguson, Charles D. Nuclear energy: what everyone needs to know. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2011. Print.
Loveland, Walter D., David J. Morrissey, and Glenn Theodore Seaborg. Modern nuclear chemistry. Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley-Interscience, 2006. Print.

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