Summary
Recently there has been another radioactive leak from the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant. This plant is located in Japan, and it has been reported that 79 gallons of potentially radioactive water has been leaked into a gutter that leads into the ocean. This harmful water has chemicals in it such as iodine, cesium and strontium. However, nobody can be positive how much strontium has been released with this water. The Fukushima nuclear power plant has been scheduled to be shut down by the end of the year.
Opinion
I think that this is a disgrace, power plants need to take more responsibility to make sure this kind of event does not happen. There should be a lot more regulations and precautions that these plants can take. I understand accidents happen, but if many more of this radioactive water escapes then our water could be in for a lot of damage. Especially after the nearly fatal nuclear power plant meltdown in Japan, you would think that people would take special care to prevent it from happening again.
Questions
1.) When was the nuclear power plant meltdown in Japan?
2.) What are side affects of radioactive leaks?
3.) How many power plants have had radioactive leaks in the past year?
4.) What are some precautions that plants can take in order to prevent leaks?
1)the meltdown occurred on may 11th 2011 and was confirmed on the 12th
ReplyDeleteI think its tragic that this happened but i feel it it justifiable given that they had just had a 9.0 earthquake and then a tsunami destroying large amounts of Japan. This was also one of the biggest nuclear disasters in history so I don't think a few gallons of potentially contaminated water should be a top priority.
When I read the article it said something about how safe nuclear power is, but when something bad happens with nuclear power it tends to have terrible impacts on the local environment and communities. An example of this would be the Chernobyl incident in the Ukraine on April 26 1986 where the local nuclear power plant had a meltdown which caused radioactive material to spread out into the local community and environment. People were forced to leave the surrounding area because of all the harmful radiation. Now nobody lives anywhere near Chernobyl because of all the radiation that still is there. Because of its size, I do not believe Japan should have nuclear power plants because of the devastating destruction they pose. If one were to meltdown in Japan, then some of the country could become inhabitable. This recent leak might be a dark foreshadowing for Japan, but hopefully it is not.
ReplyDeleteQuestion #2
Wildlife becomes sick and diseased, places become unsuitable to live in, and water becomes very polluted with radiation.