On March 11, 2011, a 9.0-magnitude earthquake occurred off the east coast of Japan, generating massive tsunamis, which severely damaged coastal areas. The earthquake and tsunami also hit the nuclear power plants (NPP) located in the coastal area in Tohoku and led to the loss of the entire core cooling capacity of three reactors of Fukushima Daiichi NPP and severe damage to the nuclear cores.1 Although deaths related to the release of radiation have not been reported six years after the disaster, the Japanese government and medical professionals have noticed an increase in mental health problems in emergency workers and evacuees. Numerous evacuations, physical detachment from homes and personal belongings, and stigmas between evacuees have been
The earthquake that rocked Kobe, Japan in 1995 veered Japanese culture into another direction in regard to mental healthcare. Remembered as the Great Hanshin Earthquake, the 7.2 magnitude earthquake struck # regions and claimed the lives of 6,400 (Baba et al.,1996). At least 55,000 people were placed in shelters, and among them included mothers, children, the elderly, and disabled (Baba et al.,1996). The demographics mentioned are specified because of research suggesting each group had pre-existing conditions or heightened stress that became exacerbated due to disaster-related trauma. As emotional suffering became so vast, many in positions of power could not overlook the emotional devastation caused by the disaster. However, they continued
Natural disasters are a huge challenge for the planet because of the adverse effects that are associated with them. One of the major earthquakes to have shaken the earth is the Great Sendai Earthquake or Great Tōhoku Earthquake that occurred in 2011. The event started when a powerful earthquake hit the northeastern Japan on March 11, 2011, and resulted in a widespread damage on land. A series of massive tsunamis later devastated many parts of the coastal regions of the country with the worst affected being the Tohoku region. The tsunami further resulted in a major nuclear accident that damaged distant regions on a power station located along the coast. The economic effects of the tsunami qualify it as one of the major natural disasters because it affected Japan’s economic stability as the country ended up resorting to importing as an alternative to cover the loss.
On March 14, 2011, Anne Applebaum created an account of the events that had occurred earlier that day in Japan. She recalled the shattering earthquake that followed a tsunami and destroyed towns such as Rikuzentakata, a town of 25,000 people (Applebaum 229). The earthquake also agitated Fukushima Daiichi, one of Japan’s nuclear power complexes. Unfortunately, all three reactors lost their ability to cool the steaming water and had to be flooded. The seawater effectively destroyed the plant before more explosions occurred. As a result, radioactive steam had to be released. Applebaum glorified the Japanese in their “technological brilliance” and their ability to cope in extreme circumstances (Applebaum 230). Although the regulations are strict
When an 9.0 magnitude earthquake rocked Japan on March 11th, 2011, it was the first of a series of horrific events that Japan would be forced to endure. Many homes, families, properties, and belongings were lost on that day. And when the tsunami rolled over the island, many believed that it was over for them. Not only had people’s lives been put in disarray and desolation, but there had not even been simple necessities available. Food. Water. Communications. And electricity. When the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant had been hit by the earthquake and tsunami, the reactors were shut down and so was the electricity. Over the course of months the reactors suffered, extreme heat, fires, hydrogen explosions, and radiation exposures. At the time,
The nuclear disaster in Fukushima occurred at fourteen forty six, Japanese time. The disaster occurred because a major magnitude nine earthquake struck North Eastern Japan and a fifteen meter high tsunami also struck the power plant (Grimston). There were eleven overall reactors that were effected by the earthquake and tsunami. Nine of the reactors cooling systems continued to work after the natural disasters occurred, but reactors one, two and three of the Fukushima Daiichi plant were terribly damaged and could not cool down the fission process. This is what lead to the one, two and three reactors to melt, causing the most detrimental damage to the global community (Grimston). Critics of the disasters say that Daiichi was not up to global nuclear safety standards because the wall the protected the plant was only stable against six meter tall tsunami waves, not the massive
Introduction: The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster was the largest nuclear disaster since Chernobyl. It measured 7 on the Nuclear Event Scale, which is the highest rating. The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster was initiated by a magnitude 9 earthquake. This earthquake caused a tsunami with waves reaching up to 133 feet to crash on the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. This caused major damage to the nuclear plant. Workers were needed to keep this already terrible incident from escalading. The Fukushima Daiichi cleanup workers are
This paper identifies and analyzes the major issues and consequences which the most recent earthquake in Japan brought to the business community. It presents some courses of actions and their justifications on how the company should proceed in its industry in order to eliminate or at least minimize the negative impacts of this earthquake on its normal business operations.
A 6.9-magnitude earthquake struck northeastern Japan on Tuesday morning at about 6 am local time (GMT 9 pm Monday), which triggered a minor tsunami wave.
The current energy sources we consume in the US are in need of a change. Dependence on the fossil fuels of oil and coal are hazardous for two important reasons: their undesirable impact on the environment and it has created the economic boom in the US. There is an agreement between the public and experts that nuclear fission is not the answer. The catastrophic meltdown of the Fukushima nuclear plant after an earthquake in Japan provides the proof. The introduction of horizontal drilling by the gas industry combined with successful development techniques of hydraulic fracturing has showcased as a solution to solve these problems altogether. We now gain access to the 100 years ' worth of energy in the form of natural gas underneath the
Stemming from new technologies such as the atomic bomb and the hydrogen bomb, atomic power was a new, clean source of power. This technology was ultimately executed poorly by the USSR and help lead to its decline. In 1986, the reactor at Chernobyl exploded, which was the worst nuclear meltdown that had happened up until that point (and is still considered the worst in history, rivalled only by the Fukushima disaster in 2011). The fallout was blown into other nations, eventually affecting millions of people. This disaster reflected poorly on the Soviet government, leading many to question its legitimacy. According to Mikhail Gorbachev (the leader of the USSR at that time), “[t]he country will never recover. [Chernobyl] cost us 18 billion rubles.
On March 11, 2011, Japan was hit by an earthquake and a tsunami resulting in 15,894 confirmed deaths, with 2,556 people missing. This was the fourth strongest earthquake to hit in recent years with a magnitude of 9.1 (“Damage Station Police” ). However, this was not the only disaster to have struck Japan, the combination of the earthquake and tsunami led to the meltdown of a power plant in, Tōhoku region, Japan. This event became known as the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster. Nuclear meltdowns has contributed harm to many environments by radioactive leaks, soil contamination, and radiation exposure.
Fukushima was the second worst nuclear disaster in the history of the world. TEPCO reported that 300 tons of contaminated water had leaked from a storage tank into the ocean. Cod and pollock are important because of their global demand. Japanese cod has tested positive for radiation contamination a number of times since the Fukushima disaster, not only in the Fukushima area, but in many other areas too. 70% of domestic product comes from the Pacific Ocean. This has led to a lot of negative information circulating through Japanese society and a shortage of positive information (or at least an indifference to it. Negative information is known to have a stronger impact on consumers than positive. Very few people are aware of the Japanese government’s
The article I have chose to read and write about is, Impact of the Fukushima accident on marine life, five years later. In the article it is stated that about five years ago the largest single release of human-made radioactive discharge to the marine environment resulted from an accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Japan. The article states that approximately eighty percent of the fallout happened over the Pacific ocean. The article then discusses how a new study explores the environmental consequences in the marine environment of the accident. Lastly the article outlines the status of the current research about the impact of the fallout on plant and animal life and what remains to be done as the radioactivity continues to spread.
On March 11th, 2011, the northern section of Japan was hit by a 9.0 magnitude earthquake, followed by a 15 meter tsunami, causing the death of over 15000 people. (Spacey) Even though the earthquake and the tsunami caused a tremendous amount of deaths in the northern region of Japan, the meltdown of the Fukushima nuclear power plant caused a severe damage to northern Japan’s ecosystem that people still cannot go back to their homes; despite it is 4 years after the disaster. After the earthquake, the tsunami destroyed the power supply used by Fukushima’s three nuclear power stations, causing severe levels of meltdown to be occurred inside the reactors in the timespan of 3 days. It was not until 2 weeks after the tragedy, when the reactors were finally stabilized, and took several months to approach what is called a “cold shutdown condition”, in which the fission in the reactors are completely stopped.(Fukushima A)
On March 11, 2011 two catastrophic disaster struck Japan; a natural disaster in the form of a tsunami that followed an earthquake resulting in a man-made disaster, a nuclear power plant meltdown. The Fukishima nuclear power plant meltdown resulted from multiple system failures. When the tsunami waves struck it was double the size of the height of the plants seawall, which flooded the plant (Edge, 2011). Water ended up in the basement of the power plant rendering the backup diesel generators inoperable and unable to cool the reactors (Edge, 2011). The entire Fukishma plant lost power, causing malfunctioning of the plant and a nuclear meltdown. Initially, the Japanese government ordered an evacuation of everyone within two miles of Fukishima, but after an explosion shook the plant, the government widened the areas to 12 miles forcing more than 100,00 people to flee (Edge, 2011). Interestingly, the United State government advised American in Japan to stay at least 50 miles away from the Fukishima plant (Davis, 2011).