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Loading...Breaking: 200,000 People Evacuated In Japan
An estimated 200,000 people have been evacuated from the area around a quake-damaged nuclear power station in the north-east of Honshu, the biggest Japanese island, that was hit by an explosion.
A Major Exodus
The UN’s nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said in a statement: “In the 20-kilometre radius around Fukushima Daiichi (No.1), an estimated 170,000 people have been evacuated.
In the 10-kilometre radius around Fukushima Daini (No.2) an estimated 30,000 people have been evacuated. Full evacuation measures have not been completed.”
As Care2′s Steve Williams wrote here earlier today, a building housing a reactor was destroyed in Saturday’s blast at the Fukushima No.1 plant.
Reactor Itself Is Intact
The authorities said the reactor itself was intact inside its steel container.
The Japanese government has sought to play down fears of a meltdown at Fukushima No.1, saying that radiation levels around the stricken plant have now fallen.
From the BBC:
But on Sunday morning, evacuation orders were issued in the wake of concerns about the safety of a second reactor at the plant after operator Tokyo Electric Power (Tepco) said the cooling system of another reactor had failed.
Since Friday’s earthquake, radioactive air and steam has been released from several reactors at both Fukushima No.1 and No.2 plants in an effort to relieve the huge amount of pressure building up inside. Sea water and boron is being pumped into the site to lower temperatures.
Tepco said four of its workers were injured in Saturday’s explosion, but that their injuries were not life-threatening. The Japanese government doubled the size of the evacuation zone around No.1 plant to 20km (12.4 miles) after the blast.
Reuters news agency quotes a Japanese nuclear safety agency official as saying that tests indicate that at least nine people have been exposed to radiation from the plant, and local authority estimates suggest this figure could rise as high as 160.
The government has urged local people to remain calm and is preparing to distribute iodine to anyone affected.
At Least 1,000 Dead And 10,000 Still Missing
Friday’s devastating earthquake and tsunami is believed to have left more than 1,000 people dead.
NHK reports that in the port of Minamisanriku, Miyagi, the authorities say that about 7,500 people were evacuated to 25 shelters after Friday’s quake but they have been unable to contact the town’s other 10,000 inhabitants.
For more Care2 coverage of the earthquake and resulting nuclear situation in Japan, click here.
Read more: earthquake, environment & wildlife, japan, japan 8.9, naoto kan, natural disaster, nuclear power plant, tsunami
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+ add your ownTo Mara, nuclear power plants will be NEVER safe.
Maybe you are part of the nuclear power industry .... who says it to sell more of these monsters.
Read this article and maybe then you will have another opinion about nuclear plants. They are NEVER safe.
http://www.aolnews.com/2011/03/22/chernobyl-cleanup-survivors-message-for-japan-run-away-as-qui/a
We CAN get rid of nuclear plants .... and it is very wise to do so. Immediately then all the invention will come out, which are suppressed and WE WILL find other ways for having electricity.
Everybody who thinks that we need nuclear plants is brainwashed from an industry, which does not care for people only for their profits. Even now in Japan you can see it, they don't make a honest report of the damage, they lie and lie only to keep the nuclear industry going. There is not even a world watchdog, who forces them to tell the truth and decides on an international level what has to be done to keep all of us safe.
Nuclear power will never be safe ..... and the risk is too high!!! Everything else to say is a big lie.
Nuclear Power Earthquake zones don't mix!!!
If you are going to get rid of nuclear because of the deaths and environmental damage, then also get rid of oil and coal. They are worse. Hydro, solar and wind are the answers.
There will never be safe nuclear power.
Why?
Well, other than what the heck to do with the waste, there is the obvious fact that humans are humans and greed and error happens.
They (corporations) will ALWAYS cut corners and will ALWAYS lie and government will ALWAYS not inspect and enforce rules and will ALWAYS have some corrupt investigators.
Those are facts and anyone disputing them is naive beyond belief.
Along with cleaner and safer power, we ALL need to use less energy. Our selfish use of way more than we need is the root cause. Society needs to chance by growing up.
Live simply so that others may simply live.
Reduce.
Reuse
Recycle
So sad. My prayers are for all of the world!
thanks for sharing.
"It is not how much we do, but how much love we put in the doing. It is not how much we give, but how much love we put in the giving."
--Mother Teresa
Mother Teresa came from Skopje (the city was destroyed by a disastrous earthquake, but was rebuilt by world solidarity). I count on world solidarity in helping people of Japan recover from this disaster.
Well we can't get rid of nuclear power plants over night, but we can stop building them. There are known alternatives, and once alternatives become more widespread we can look to decomission the nuclear power plants. Also we can work towards finding more alternatives.
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