Five Years After Japan's Fukushima Nuclear Disaster

By Zakaria Abdul Wahab (The writer recently visited ground zero of the Fukushima nuclear disaster on the invitation of the Japan Atomic Industrial Forum Inc. International Cooperation Centre (JICC)) TOKYO, March 10 (Bernama) -- On Friday, March 11, Japan commemorates the fifth anniversary of the deadly earthquake off the Pacific Coast of Tohuku that triggered a mega tsunami, and subsequently a nuclear disaster. The magnitude 9 undersea earthquake and the following tsunami caused tremendous damage and up to 16,000 people were killed, with many more missing till today (Thursday). The deadly tsunami that reached 15.5 metres in height damaged the 4,700MW Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant located at the coast of Fukushima Prefecture, prompting the release of radioactive material to the surroundings. Thousands of locals had to be evacuated with many of the neighbourhoods turning into ghost towns. Today the earthquake and the tsunami affected areas have made remarkable recovery. Even in areas affected by the radioactive fallout, outside the 12km radius of the Fukushima reactor, life is returning to normal albeit slowly. THE DEADLY TSUNAMI The tsunami had ruined several hundred kilometres of coastline, buildings and infrastructure across many prefectures from Aemori to Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima in Honshu, Japan’s main island. They have been rebuilt or replaced since. However, the effects of radiation in the areas affected by the nuclear fallout remains a concern of many. The Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant that belongs to Japan’s largest electric utility, the Tokyo Electric Power Company, Inc. (Tepco), has been the centre of global attention since the nuclear accident. The tsunami flooded and crippled the nuclear power plant's emergency generators that were pumping water to cool off the nuclear reactors that had been shut down automatically following the earthquake. According to Hideaki Noro, the General Manager for Public Affairs of Tepco’s Fukushima Daiichi Decontamination and Decommissioning Engineering Company, the plant was designed to withstand a 5.7-metre high tsunami and not more. Nonetheless, the 15.5 metre high tsunami overwhelmed the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. Tepco had six nuclear reactors at the plant but during the earthquake three of them were under regular maintenance while the other three were in operations. Reports indicated the radiation dose reached nearly 400 milli-sieverts per hour (mSv/h) during its peak at ground zero compared between 0.02–0.06 mSv/h before the incident. Early this month (March 2016), as the fifth anniversary of the Fukushima disaster neared, a radiation reading of over 300 mSv/h was recorded at ground zero. THE EFFECT OF THE NUCLEAR FALLOUT Recalling the 2011 incident, Noro said the areas within a 20-kilometre radius from power plant was initially uninhabitable due to the radioactive contamination. According to reports, about 300,000 people in the affected areas had to be evacuated and they left with only “their clothes on their backs”. They had to leave behind their belongings that had been contaminated by radioactive material. Homes, vehicles and land, and even pet dogs and cats were abandoned as well. However, after nearly five years, the affected areas are being steadily populated again. Thanks to the decontamination work done by Tepco. The town of Naraha located at the fringe of the evacuation zone south of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant is seeing human activities with about five percent of its 7,500 residents returning home. At Tomioka, another town 12km away from the nuclear plant, the evacuees could return to their places only during the day and they have to leave the place by night, said Noro. The areas within a 12km radius from the nuclear plant however remained uninhabitable as the radioactive levels were still high, Noro added. The evacuated areas appear like a time capsule with the homes, shops, petrol kiosks, vehicles and properties left behind five years ago remaining as they were, except that they had gathered dust. Curtains at homes appear still half-drawn, in supermarkets consumer products remain on the shelves, shirts hang on the hangers, new cars at showrooms covered in dust and dusty vending machines with drinks stand by the roadsides. NEW SAFETY GUIDELINES FOR POWER GENERATION Noro said that Tepco is now fully undertaking the work of dismantling the nuclear power plant and ridding the areas surrounding the plant of radioactivity. However, the task could take about three to four decades to complete. Meanwhile, Takehiko Mukaiyama, an official of the Japan Atomic Industrial Forum Inc International Cooperation Centre, said before the March 11, 2011 incident there were 54 nuclear power plants in operations providing one third of the total electricity requirement in Japan. However, Mukaiyama said since the 2011 earthquake and tsunami all of them were temporarily shutdown. After the Fukushima incident Japan established the Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA), which introduced new safety guidelines in September 2014 for the utility companies that want to restart their nuclear power plants. Tatsuji Narita, Director of International Energy at the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), said to date NRA has given the green light to four nuclear power plants, two in Sendai and two in Takahama. To fulfill the safety requirements, the Mihama Nuclear Power Plant in Tsuruga in Fukui Prefecture, owned by the Kansai Electric Power Co. Inc, has enhanced its safety features against natural disasters such as earthquake, tsunami, volcano eruption and tornadoes. The company has also added a new safety feature to its plant that is to counter any terrorist acts, including intentional airplane crashes, by strengthening its reactor buildings with thicker walls, according to its officials. Tatsuji said although the Fukushima incident has dented the image of Japan’s nuclear energy industry, the country could not ignore the importance of the nuclear power plants for power generation in the future. -- BERNAMA