Stichting Laka

Publication Laka-library:
Costs, risks, and myths of nuclear power. NGO world-wide study on the implications of the catastrophe at the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Station

Author	R.Acheson
	6-01-0-00-269.pdf
Date	2011
Classification	6.01.0.00/269 (GENERAL)
Front

Costs, risks, and myths of nuclear power
NGO world-wide study on the implications of the catastrophe
at the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Station
Edited by RAY ACHESON


Preface
Kozue Akibayashi

Six months have already passed since the earthquake
and tsunami that literally devastated the Tohoku,
the northeast area of Japan, on 11 March 2011. In Japan,
not a single day has gone by without hearing about the
victims. More than 20,000 people have died or are still
missing as a result of the magnitude 9.0 earthquake
and a series of tsunamis that surpassed what had been
predicted. More than 80,000 have lost their homes and
in many cases their entire community, and remain displaced
to this day. Even to the people of Japan—possibly
the best-prepared for large-scale earthquakes and
tsunamis because of the country’s long earthquake prone
history—the power of this catastrophe was beyond
our imagination. The reconstruction of the region
will require long-term efforts of the entire nation
and international cooperation.
The earthquake and tsunamis are gone, but we are
now left to cope with something very different: radiation.
The Fukushima Dai-ichi
Nuclear Power Station, one of the
oldest nuclear power plants in Japan,
with some of its reactors having
been in operation for nearly
40 years, was severely wrecked by
the earthquake and tsunami on 11
March 2011. Soon after that, the
plant managers lost control; explosions,
meltdowns, and the release
of radioactive materials followed.
We were not told what was actually
going on at the time. The Japanese
government’s daily press conference
did not confirm what many
suspected: that massive radiation
was leaking into the soil, water, and
air. We first learned from foreign
sources about the hydrogen explosions
of the plant’s containment
buildings on 14 March and after.
It has been an extremely frustrating
six months, particularly for those living in the vicinity
of Fukushima Dai-ichi who have been displaced,
not knowing what will happen nor when or even if they
will ever return home. Nobody in a responsible position
has provided necessary information to the public
about the status of the radiation leaks, anticipated
impacts, or policies to ensure the safety of people. The
nuclear scientists who have been working for years to
point out the dangers of nuclear energy despite the difficulties
of being ostracized in the industry because of
their criticism of nuclear energy and its policies, desperately
tried to disseminate information on the Internet
because that was the only possible media outlet for
them. Major media did not report their analyses of the
plant’s conditions nor radiation leak.
It has been reported recently that many