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Japan 8.8 earthquake & Tsunami
- Thread starter Cestbon
- Start date
Japan hails the heroic 'Fukushima 50'
By Chris Hogg
The authorities have been using increasingly desperate methods to cool reactors. In Japanese disaster films they like heroes who sacrifice everything for the greater good - stoic, determined, refusing to back down in the face of adversity or even certain death.
These are the qualities the country admires.
Now the newspapers here have a new band of heroes to lionise - the workers, emergency services personnel and the scientists battling to save the Fukushima nuclear plant, their fellow citizens and themselves.
We know little about them, except for the few whose relatives have spoken to the Japanese media.
One woman told the papers her father, who had worked for an electric company for 40 years, had volunteered to help.
He was due to retire in September.
"The future of the nuclear plant depends on how we resolve this crisis," he was reported to have told his daughter. "I feel it's my mission to help."
The small group of workers who stayed at the site as the conditions worsened were dubbed "The Fukushima 50" - although now it is thought there are maybe twice that many working there.
Rick Hallard, who worked in the British nuclear industry for more than 30 years, says the pressure on them will be immense, but that they will probably not feel it until it is over.
“Start Quote If that place explodes, it's the end for all of us, so all I can do is send them encouragement”
End Quote Maeda Akihiro
"They'll be focusing on the key risks and threats," he says. "They will have a very clear idea of what their priorities are."
'Life on the line'
On Wednesday the government raised the legal limit of radiation they could be exposed to from 100 to 250 millisieverts.
That is more than 12 times the legal dose for workers dealing with radiation under British law.
But you would need to be exposed to a dose probably twice that maximum before you would expect to see the so-called "early effects" people associate with radiation sickness, like a lowering of white blood cells.
People living close to the plant are being checked for radiation as they evacuate
You would need a level of exposure in the region of 1,000 millisieverts before you might feel nauseous or feel ill.
The "late effects" of exposure to radiation may not occur for many years. It can increase the likelihood you will develop cancer, but this is only an increased possibility, not a certainty.
The person in charge of the operation will likely be some distance from the reactors, Mr Hallard says.
"You need to be remote from the event to enable you to think," he says, "so that you don't miss things or react too quickly."
"It's important to take the pressure off the person in charge."
The workers might be faceless heroes for the moment, but their bravery has won them the admiration of many Japanese.
"They are sacrificing themselves for the Japanese people," says Fukuda Kensuke, a white collar worker in Tokyo. "I feel really grateful to those who continue to work there."
"They're putting their life on the line," agrees Maeda Akihiro. "If that place explodes, it's the end for all of us, so all I can do is send them encouragement."
The Japanese Self Defence pilots who have been flying the helicopters used to "water-bomb" the plant on Thursday, to try to help cool the fuel rods, have been restricted to missions lasting less than 40 minutes at a time, to try to restrict their exposure to radiation.
The Japanese Prime Minister, Naoto Kan, has paid tribute to all those involved in the efforts to stabilise conditions at the nuclear plant, describing how they are "making their best effort without even thinking twice about the danger".
When this crisis is over, some of the stories of individual heroism will start to emerge. Several of those battling to cool the fuel rods have been injured.
It must be hardest for their families, who sit and wait at home, not knowing what dangers their loved ones are facing, what damage they might have suffered and what problems might result in the years ahead.
"I didn't want him to go," one man's wife told a Japanese paper. "But he's been working in the nuclear industry since he was 18 and he's confident it's safe."
Japan has raised the alert level at a stricken nuclear plant from four to five on a seven-point international scale for atomic incidents.
The crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi site is now two levels below Ukraine's 1986 Chernobyl disaster.
The head of the UN's nuclear watchdog warned in Tokyo the battle to stabilise the plant was a race against time.
The crisis was prompted by last week's huge quake and tsunami, which left more than 16,000 people dead or missing.
The Japanese nuclear agency's decision to raise the alert level to five grades Fukushima's as an "accident with wider consequences".
Environment correspondent, BBC News
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Japan's upgrading of the Fukushima incident from severity four to five stems from concerns about the reactors in buildings 1, 2 and 3, rather than the cooling ponds storing spent fuel.
Level five is defined as an "accident with wider consequences". This was the level given to the 1957 reactor fire at Windscale in the UK and the partial meltdown of the Three Mile Island plant in the US in 1979.
Both met the level five definition of "limited release" of radioactive materials to the wider environment.
Windscale is believed to have caused about 200 cases of cancer, whereas reports into the Three Mile Island incident suggest there were no health impacts outside the site.
French and US officials had previously said the Fukushima situation was more serious than Japanese evaluations suggested.
Higher radiation levels than normal have been recorded in a few places 30km from the site, but in Tokyo, they were reported to be normal.
"This is not something that just Japan should deal with, and people of the entire world should co-operate with Japan and the people in the disaster areas," said Mr Amano, a Japanese citizen.
He said he would not visit the Fukushima Daiichi site, which has been rocked by a series of explosions, on his current trip to the country.
His four-member team of nuclear experts would start by monitoring radiation in the capital, he said, before moving to the vicinity of the quake-hit facility, reports Kyodo news agency.
Military fire trucks have been spraying the plant's overheating reactor units for a second day.
Water in at least one fuel pool - in reactor 3 - is believed to be dangerously low, exposing the stored fuel rods.
If the ponds run dry, a nuclear chain reaction could release more radiation into the atmosphere.
An electricity line has been bulldozed through to the site and engineers are racing to connect it, but they are being hampered by radiation.
The plant's operators need the power cable to restart water pumps that pour cold water on the reactor units.
Military helicopters which dropped water from above on Thursday have been kept on standby.
Televised footage of the airdrops had shown much of the water blowing away in the wind.
By Chris Hogg
The authorities have been using increasingly desperate methods to cool reactors. In Japanese disaster films they like heroes who sacrifice everything for the greater good - stoic, determined, refusing to back down in the face of adversity or even certain death.
These are the qualities the country admires.
Now the newspapers here have a new band of heroes to lionise - the workers, emergency services personnel and the scientists battling to save the Fukushima nuclear plant, their fellow citizens and themselves.
We know little about them, except for the few whose relatives have spoken to the Japanese media.
One woman told the papers her father, who had worked for an electric company for 40 years, had volunteered to help.
He was due to retire in September.
"The future of the nuclear plant depends on how we resolve this crisis," he was reported to have told his daughter. "I feel it's my mission to help."
The small group of workers who stayed at the site as the conditions worsened were dubbed "The Fukushima 50" - although now it is thought there are maybe twice that many working there.
Rick Hallard, who worked in the British nuclear industry for more than 30 years, says the pressure on them will be immense, but that they will probably not feel it until it is over.
“Start Quote If that place explodes, it's the end for all of us, so all I can do is send them encouragement”
End Quote Maeda Akihiro
"They'll be focusing on the key risks and threats," he says. "They will have a very clear idea of what their priorities are."
'Life on the line'
On Wednesday the government raised the legal limit of radiation they could be exposed to from 100 to 250 millisieverts.
That is more than 12 times the legal dose for workers dealing with radiation under British law.
But you would need to be exposed to a dose probably twice that maximum before you would expect to see the so-called "early effects" people associate with radiation sickness, like a lowering of white blood cells.
People living close to the plant are being checked for radiation as they evacuate
You would need a level of exposure in the region of 1,000 millisieverts before you might feel nauseous or feel ill.
The "late effects" of exposure to radiation may not occur for many years. It can increase the likelihood you will develop cancer, but this is only an increased possibility, not a certainty.
The person in charge of the operation will likely be some distance from the reactors, Mr Hallard says.
"You need to be remote from the event to enable you to think," he says, "so that you don't miss things or react too quickly."
"It's important to take the pressure off the person in charge."
The workers might be faceless heroes for the moment, but their bravery has won them the admiration of many Japanese.
"They are sacrificing themselves for the Japanese people," says Fukuda Kensuke, a white collar worker in Tokyo. "I feel really grateful to those who continue to work there."
"They're putting their life on the line," agrees Maeda Akihiro. "If that place explodes, it's the end for all of us, so all I can do is send them encouragement."
The Japanese Self Defence pilots who have been flying the helicopters used to "water-bomb" the plant on Thursday, to try to help cool the fuel rods, have been restricted to missions lasting less than 40 minutes at a time, to try to restrict their exposure to radiation.
The Japanese Prime Minister, Naoto Kan, has paid tribute to all those involved in the efforts to stabilise conditions at the nuclear plant, describing how they are "making their best effort without even thinking twice about the danger".
When this crisis is over, some of the stories of individual heroism will start to emerge. Several of those battling to cool the fuel rods have been injured.
It must be hardest for their families, who sit and wait at home, not knowing what dangers their loved ones are facing, what damage they might have suffered and what problems might result in the years ahead.
"I didn't want him to go," one man's wife told a Japanese paper. "But he's been working in the nuclear industry since he was 18 and he's confident it's safe."
Japan has raised the alert level at a stricken nuclear plant from four to five on a seven-point international scale for atomic incidents.
The crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi site is now two levels below Ukraine's 1986 Chernobyl disaster.
The head of the UN's nuclear watchdog warned in Tokyo the battle to stabilise the plant was a race against time.
The crisis was prompted by last week's huge quake and tsunami, which left more than 16,000 people dead or missing.
The Japanese nuclear agency's decision to raise the alert level to five grades Fukushima's as an "accident with wider consequences".
Environment correspondent, BBC News
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Japan's upgrading of the Fukushima incident from severity four to five stems from concerns about the reactors in buildings 1, 2 and 3, rather than the cooling ponds storing spent fuel.
Level five is defined as an "accident with wider consequences". This was the level given to the 1957 reactor fire at Windscale in the UK and the partial meltdown of the Three Mile Island plant in the US in 1979.
Both met the level five definition of "limited release" of radioactive materials to the wider environment.
Windscale is believed to have caused about 200 cases of cancer, whereas reports into the Three Mile Island incident suggest there were no health impacts outside the site.
French and US officials had previously said the Fukushima situation was more serious than Japanese evaluations suggested.
Higher radiation levels than normal have been recorded in a few places 30km from the site, but in Tokyo, they were reported to be normal.
"This is not something that just Japan should deal with, and people of the entire world should co-operate with Japan and the people in the disaster areas," said Mr Amano, a Japanese citizen.
He said he would not visit the Fukushima Daiichi site, which has been rocked by a series of explosions, on his current trip to the country.
His four-member team of nuclear experts would start by monitoring radiation in the capital, he said, before moving to the vicinity of the quake-hit facility, reports Kyodo news agency.
Military fire trucks have been spraying the plant's overheating reactor units for a second day.
Water in at least one fuel pool - in reactor 3 - is believed to be dangerously low, exposing the stored fuel rods.
If the ponds run dry, a nuclear chain reaction could release more radiation into the atmosphere.
An electricity line has been bulldozed through to the site and engineers are racing to connect it, but they are being hampered by radiation.
The plant's operators need the power cable to restart water pumps that pour cold water on the reactor units.
Military helicopters which dropped water from above on Thursday have been kept on standby.
Televised footage of the airdrops had shown much of the water blowing away in the wind.
Japan raises nuclear alert level
Prof Malcolm Sperrin, a medical physicist, on the Japan quake health risks
The Japanese authorities are battling to try to minimise the release of radiation from the stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.
Radiation levels have fallen back from a high on Tuesday, but there is no guarantee that they will not begin to rise again, as the plant is far from stable.
A 20km (12 mile) evacuation zone has been imposed around the plant, and residents living within 30km (18 miles) have been advised to leave the area, or to stay indoors, and try to make their homes airtight.
Experts have stressed that swift action should be able to minimise any impact on human health.
What are the immediate health effects of exposure to radiation?
Exposure to moderate levels of radiation - above one gray (the standard measure of absorbed radiation) - can result in radiation sickness, which produces a range of symptoms.
Nausea and vomiting often begin within hours of exposure, followed by diarrhoea, headaches and fever.
After the first round of symptoms, there may be a brief period with no apparent illness, but this may be followed within weeks by new, more serious symptoms.
At higher levels of radiation, all of these symptoms may be immediately apparent, along with widespread - and potentially fatal - damage to internal organs.
Exposure to a radiation dose of four gray will typically kill about half of all healthy adults.
For comparison, radiation therapy for cancer typically involves several doses of between one and seven gray at a time - but these doses are highly controlled, and usually specifically targeted at small areas of the body.
A sievert is essentially equivalent to a gray, but tends to be used to measure lower levels of radiation, and for assessing long-term risk, rather than the short-term acute impact of exposure. There are 1,000 millisieverts in a sievert.
Radiation dose Effect
Source: World Nuclear Association
2 millisieverts per year (mSv/yr)
Typical background radiation experienced by everyone (average 1.5 mSv in Australia, 3 mSv in North America)
9 mSv/yr
Exposure by airline crew flying New York-Tokyo polar route
20 mSv/yr
Current limit (averaged) for nuclear industry employees
50 mSv/yr
Former routine limit for nuclear industry employees. It is also the dose rate which arises from natural background levels in several places in Iran, India and Europe
100 mSv/yr
Lowest level at which any increase in cancer is clearly evident.
350 mSv/lifetime
Criterion for relocating people after Chernobyl accident
400 mSv/hr
The level recorded at the Japanese nuclear site, 15 March
1,000 mSv single dose
Causes (temporary) radiation sickness such as nausea and decreased white blood cell count, but not death. Above this, severity of illness increases with dose
5,000 mSv single dose
Would kill about half those receiving it within a month
How is radiation sickness treated?
The first thing to do is to try to minimise further contamination by removing clothes and shoes, and gently washing the skin with soap and water.
Drugs are available that increase white blood-cell production to counter any damage that may have occurred to the bone marrow, and to reduce the risk of further infections due to immune-system damage.
There are also specific drugs that can help to reduce the damage to internal organs caused by radioactive particles.
How does radiation have an impact on health?
Radioactive materials that decay spontaneously produce ionising radiation, which has the capacity to cause significant damage to the body's internal chemistry, breaking the chemical bonds between the atoms and molecules that make up our tissues.
The body responds by trying to repair this damage, but sometimes it is too severe or widespread to make repair possible. There is also a danger of mistakes in the natural repair process.
Regions of the body that are most vulnerable to radiation damage include the cells lining the intestine and stomach, and the blood-cell producing cells in the bone marrow.
The extent of the damage caused is dependent on how long people are exposed to radiation, and at what level.
Radiation and cancer
Most experts agree even small doses of ionising radiation - as low as 100 millisieverts - can increase the risk of cancer, but by a very small amount.
In general, the risk of cancer increases as the dose of radiation increases. Exposure to one sievert of radiation is estimated to increase the lifetime risk of fatal cancer by around 5%.
The thyroid gland and bone marrow are particularly sensitive to ionising radiation.
Leukemia, a type of cancer that arises in the bone marrow, is the most common radiation-induced cancer. Leukemias may appear as early as a few years after radiation exposure.
Other cancer can also result from exposure to radiation, but may not develop for at least a decade. These include cancers of the lung, skin, thyroid, breast and stomach.
What are the most likely long-term health effects?
Cancer is the biggest long-term risk. Usually when the body's cells reach their "sell-by date" they commit suicide. Cancer results when cells lose this ability, and effectively become immortal, continuing to divide and divide in an uncontrolled fashion.
The body has various processes for ensuring that cells do not become cancerous, and for replacing damaged tissue.
But the damage caused by exposure to radiation can completely disrupt these control processes, making it much more likely that cancer will result.
Failure to properly repair the damage caused by radiation can also result in changes - or mutations - to the body's genetic material, which are not only associated with cancer, but may also be potentially passed down to offspring, leading to deformities in future generations. These can include smaller head or brain size, poorly formed eyes, slow growth and severe learning difficulties.
Are children at greater risk?
Potentially yes. Because they are growing more rapidly, more cells are dividing, and so the potential for things to go wrong is greater.
Following the Chernobyl nuclear reactor accident in the Ukraine in 1986, the World Health Organization recorded a dramatic increase in thyroid cancer among children in the vicinity.
This was because the radioactive materials released during the accident contained high levels of radioactive iodine, a material that accumulates in the thyroid.
What risk does Fukushima pose currently?
The Japanese authorities have recorded a radiation level of up 400 millisieverts per hour at the nuclear plant itself.
Professor Richard Wakeford, an expert in radiation exposure at the University of Manchester, said exposure to a dose of 400 millisieverts was unlikely to cause radiation sickness - that would require a dose of around twice that level (one sievert/one gray).
However, it could start to depress the production of blood cells in the bone marrow, and was likely to raise the lifetime risk of fatal cancer by 2-4%. Typically, a Japanese person has a lifetime risk of fatal cancer of 20-25%.
A dose of 400 millisieverts is equivalent to the dose from 50 -100 CT scans.
Prof Wakeford stressed only emergency workers at the plant were at risk of exposure to such a dose - but it was likely that they would only be exposed for short periods of time to minimise their risk.
However, even a dose of 100 millisieverts over a year is enough to raise the risk of cancer, albeit it marginally.
The level of exposure for the general population, even those living close to the plant, was unlikely to be anywhere near as high. There should be no risk to people living further afield.
What if the situation deteriorates?
If there were to be a meltdown or a fire at the nuclear plant, and unfavourable winds, then experts say radioactive material could reach as far as Toyko, 150 miles (241km) away.
However, even in that situation, the level of radiation is likely to be such that simple measures, such as staying indoors with windows closed, should neutralise the risk.
How can the Japanese authorities minimise the cost to human health?
Prof Wakeford said that provided the Japanese authorities acted quickly, most of the general population should be spared significant health problems.
He said in those circumstances the only people likely to be at risk of serious health effects were nuclear workers at the plant or emergency workers exposed to high levels of radiation.
He said the top priority would be to evacuate people from the area and to make sure they did not eat contaminated food. The biggest risk was that radioactive iodine could get into their system, raising the risk of thyroid cancer.
To counter that risk, people - in particular children - could be given tablets containing stable iodine which would prevent the body absorbing the radioactive version.
The Japanese already have a lot of iodine in their natural diet, so that should help too.
How does Fukushima compare to Chernobyl?
Professor Gerry Thomas, who has studied the aftermath of the Chernobyl disaster, said: "It is very unlikely that this will turn into anything that resembles Chernobyl.
"In Chernobyl you had a steam explosion which exposed the reactor core, which meant you had a lot of radiation shooting up into the atmosphere."
Prof Thomas said although the Chernobyl disaster had led to a rise in thyroid cancer cases, the only people affected were those living in the areas of Ukraine, Belarus and Russia that lie closest to the site of the Chernobyl Power Plant, and who were young at the time.
Prof Malcolm Sperrin, a medical physicist, on the Japan quake health risks
The Japanese authorities are battling to try to minimise the release of radiation from the stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.
Radiation levels have fallen back from a high on Tuesday, but there is no guarantee that they will not begin to rise again, as the plant is far from stable.
A 20km (12 mile) evacuation zone has been imposed around the plant, and residents living within 30km (18 miles) have been advised to leave the area, or to stay indoors, and try to make their homes airtight.
Experts have stressed that swift action should be able to minimise any impact on human health.
What are the immediate health effects of exposure to radiation?
Exposure to moderate levels of radiation - above one gray (the standard measure of absorbed radiation) - can result in radiation sickness, which produces a range of symptoms.
Nausea and vomiting often begin within hours of exposure, followed by diarrhoea, headaches and fever.
After the first round of symptoms, there may be a brief period with no apparent illness, but this may be followed within weeks by new, more serious symptoms.
At higher levels of radiation, all of these symptoms may be immediately apparent, along with widespread - and potentially fatal - damage to internal organs.
Exposure to a radiation dose of four gray will typically kill about half of all healthy adults.
For comparison, radiation therapy for cancer typically involves several doses of between one and seven gray at a time - but these doses are highly controlled, and usually specifically targeted at small areas of the body.
A sievert is essentially equivalent to a gray, but tends to be used to measure lower levels of radiation, and for assessing long-term risk, rather than the short-term acute impact of exposure. There are 1,000 millisieverts in a sievert.
Radiation dose Effect
Source: World Nuclear Association
2 millisieverts per year (mSv/yr)
Typical background radiation experienced by everyone (average 1.5 mSv in Australia, 3 mSv in North America)
9 mSv/yr
Exposure by airline crew flying New York-Tokyo polar route
20 mSv/yr
Current limit (averaged) for nuclear industry employees
50 mSv/yr
Former routine limit for nuclear industry employees. It is also the dose rate which arises from natural background levels in several places in Iran, India and Europe
100 mSv/yr
Lowest level at which any increase in cancer is clearly evident.
350 mSv/lifetime
Criterion for relocating people after Chernobyl accident
400 mSv/hr
The level recorded at the Japanese nuclear site, 15 March
1,000 mSv single dose
Causes (temporary) radiation sickness such as nausea and decreased white blood cell count, but not death. Above this, severity of illness increases with dose
5,000 mSv single dose
Would kill about half those receiving it within a month
How is radiation sickness treated?
The first thing to do is to try to minimise further contamination by removing clothes and shoes, and gently washing the skin with soap and water.
Drugs are available that increase white blood-cell production to counter any damage that may have occurred to the bone marrow, and to reduce the risk of further infections due to immune-system damage.
There are also specific drugs that can help to reduce the damage to internal organs caused by radioactive particles.
How does radiation have an impact on health?
Radioactive materials that decay spontaneously produce ionising radiation, which has the capacity to cause significant damage to the body's internal chemistry, breaking the chemical bonds between the atoms and molecules that make up our tissues.
The body responds by trying to repair this damage, but sometimes it is too severe or widespread to make repair possible. There is also a danger of mistakes in the natural repair process.
Regions of the body that are most vulnerable to radiation damage include the cells lining the intestine and stomach, and the blood-cell producing cells in the bone marrow.
The extent of the damage caused is dependent on how long people are exposed to radiation, and at what level.
Radiation and cancer
Most experts agree even small doses of ionising radiation - as low as 100 millisieverts - can increase the risk of cancer, but by a very small amount.
In general, the risk of cancer increases as the dose of radiation increases. Exposure to one sievert of radiation is estimated to increase the lifetime risk of fatal cancer by around 5%.
The thyroid gland and bone marrow are particularly sensitive to ionising radiation.
Leukemia, a type of cancer that arises in the bone marrow, is the most common radiation-induced cancer. Leukemias may appear as early as a few years after radiation exposure.
Other cancer can also result from exposure to radiation, but may not develop for at least a decade. These include cancers of the lung, skin, thyroid, breast and stomach.
What are the most likely long-term health effects?
Cancer is the biggest long-term risk. Usually when the body's cells reach their "sell-by date" they commit suicide. Cancer results when cells lose this ability, and effectively become immortal, continuing to divide and divide in an uncontrolled fashion.
The body has various processes for ensuring that cells do not become cancerous, and for replacing damaged tissue.
But the damage caused by exposure to radiation can completely disrupt these control processes, making it much more likely that cancer will result.
Failure to properly repair the damage caused by radiation can also result in changes - or mutations - to the body's genetic material, which are not only associated with cancer, but may also be potentially passed down to offspring, leading to deformities in future generations. These can include smaller head or brain size, poorly formed eyes, slow growth and severe learning difficulties.
Are children at greater risk?
Potentially yes. Because they are growing more rapidly, more cells are dividing, and so the potential for things to go wrong is greater.
Following the Chernobyl nuclear reactor accident in the Ukraine in 1986, the World Health Organization recorded a dramatic increase in thyroid cancer among children in the vicinity.
This was because the radioactive materials released during the accident contained high levels of radioactive iodine, a material that accumulates in the thyroid.
What risk does Fukushima pose currently?
The Japanese authorities have recorded a radiation level of up 400 millisieverts per hour at the nuclear plant itself.
Professor Richard Wakeford, an expert in radiation exposure at the University of Manchester, said exposure to a dose of 400 millisieverts was unlikely to cause radiation sickness - that would require a dose of around twice that level (one sievert/one gray).
However, it could start to depress the production of blood cells in the bone marrow, and was likely to raise the lifetime risk of fatal cancer by 2-4%. Typically, a Japanese person has a lifetime risk of fatal cancer of 20-25%.
A dose of 400 millisieverts is equivalent to the dose from 50 -100 CT scans.
Prof Wakeford stressed only emergency workers at the plant were at risk of exposure to such a dose - but it was likely that they would only be exposed for short periods of time to minimise their risk.
However, even a dose of 100 millisieverts over a year is enough to raise the risk of cancer, albeit it marginally.
The level of exposure for the general population, even those living close to the plant, was unlikely to be anywhere near as high. There should be no risk to people living further afield.
What if the situation deteriorates?
If there were to be a meltdown or a fire at the nuclear plant, and unfavourable winds, then experts say radioactive material could reach as far as Toyko, 150 miles (241km) away.
However, even in that situation, the level of radiation is likely to be such that simple measures, such as staying indoors with windows closed, should neutralise the risk.
How can the Japanese authorities minimise the cost to human health?
Prof Wakeford said that provided the Japanese authorities acted quickly, most of the general population should be spared significant health problems.
He said in those circumstances the only people likely to be at risk of serious health effects were nuclear workers at the plant or emergency workers exposed to high levels of radiation.
He said the top priority would be to evacuate people from the area and to make sure they did not eat contaminated food. The biggest risk was that radioactive iodine could get into their system, raising the risk of thyroid cancer.
To counter that risk, people - in particular children - could be given tablets containing stable iodine which would prevent the body absorbing the radioactive version.
The Japanese already have a lot of iodine in their natural diet, so that should help too.
How does Fukushima compare to Chernobyl?
Professor Gerry Thomas, who has studied the aftermath of the Chernobyl disaster, said: "It is very unlikely that this will turn into anything that resembles Chernobyl.
"In Chernobyl you had a steam explosion which exposed the reactor core, which meant you had a lot of radiation shooting up into the atmosphere."
Prof Thomas said although the Chernobyl disaster had led to a rise in thyroid cancer cases, the only people affected were those living in the areas of Ukraine, Belarus and Russia that lie closest to the site of the Chernobyl Power Plant, and who were young at the time.
After-shocks
All Toshiba related content on HEXUS
As anyone who has been following the consequences of the earthquake off the coast of Japan will know, the situation is constantly evolving, and the true extent of the natural disaster only gradually becoming clear.
The same is true of its effect on business, but with Japan being a key player in the global technology business, we've attempted to provide a snapshot of the effect on the channel at time of writing.
The tech giant most profoundly affected by the quake appears to be Toshiba, although none of its tech plants seem to have been physically damaged by the quake. In an announcement on Monday Toshiba announced it was cutting the electricity consumption of all businesses within the Tokyo Electric Power Company's (TEPCO) territory to bare essential level.
In practice this is most profoundly affecting the production of Flash memory, and the spot price of NAND Flash and Flash cards spiked by over 20 percent earlier this week. The good news is that things seem to have stabilised as more information became available.
Having said Tosh seems to be the worst hit, plenty of other players have plants in the affected area. EETimes wrote a comprehensive analysis of fabs affected by the quake on Monday, which included the graphic from Objective Analysis that we've reproduced below. Other heavily impacted tech companies include Renesas, Texas Instruments and Freescale.
Meanwhile Reuters and Business Insider confirmed NAND Flash seems to be the worst affected and, perhaps inevitably, focused on what all this means for supplied of Apple's iPad 2.
All Toshiba related content on HEXUS
As anyone who has been following the consequences of the earthquake off the coast of Japan will know, the situation is constantly evolving, and the true extent of the natural disaster only gradually becoming clear.
The same is true of its effect on business, but with Japan being a key player in the global technology business, we've attempted to provide a snapshot of the effect on the channel at time of writing.
The tech giant most profoundly affected by the quake appears to be Toshiba, although none of its tech plants seem to have been physically damaged by the quake. In an announcement on Monday Toshiba announced it was cutting the electricity consumption of all businesses within the Tokyo Electric Power Company's (TEPCO) territory to bare essential level.
In practice this is most profoundly affecting the production of Flash memory, and the spot price of NAND Flash and Flash cards spiked by over 20 percent earlier this week. The good news is that things seem to have stabilised as more information became available.
Having said Tosh seems to be the worst hit, plenty of other players have plants in the affected area. EETimes wrote a comprehensive analysis of fabs affected by the quake on Monday, which included the graphic from Objective Analysis that we've reproduced below. Other heavily impacted tech companies include Renesas, Texas Instruments and Freescale.
Meanwhile Reuters and Business Insider confirmed NAND Flash seems to be the worst affected and, perhaps inevitably, focused on what all this means for supplied of Apple's iPad 2.
A legacy from the 1800s leaves Tokyo facing blackouts
By Martyn Williams
March 18, 2011 05:43 AM
IDG News Service - East Japan entered its fifth day of power rationing on Friday, with no end to the planned blackouts in sight. The power shortages began last week when a massive earthquake and tsunami knocked nuclear power stations offline. The local electrical utility can't make up the shortfall by importing power from another region, though, because Japan lacks a national power grid, a consequence of a decision taken in the late 1800s.
Japan's electricity system got its start in 1883 with the founding of Tokyo Electric Light Co. Demand quickly grew and in 1895 the company bought electricity generation equipment from Germany's AEG. In west Japan the same evolution was taking place, and Osaka Electric Lamp imported equipment from General Electric.
The AEG equipment produced electricity at Europe's 50Hz (hertz, or cycles per second) standard while the General Electric gear matched the U.S. 60Hz standard. That probably didn't seem important at the time -- after all, light bulbs are happy on either frequency -- but the impact of those decisions is being seen today.
All of eastern Japan, including Tokyo and the disaster-struck region to the north, is standardized on 50Hz supply while the rest of the country uses 60Hz.
Connecting the two grids is possible, but it requires frequency changing stations. Three such facilities exist, but they have a total capacity of 1 gigawatt.
When the quake hit, it shut down 11 reactors including three that were in operation at the Fukushima Daiichi plant that is now at the center of Japan's nuclear problems. With the 11 reactors offline, 9.7GW was gone from eastern Japan's electricity production capacity.
And that's the root of Tokyo's current electricity problems: utility companies in west Japan are unable to make up for all of the lost power.
On Monday the government appealed to east Japan to cut consumption and the region responded. Lighting has been reduced in offices, neon signs are dark and passengers in some stations are being asked to take the stairs instead of the escalator.
A series of daily rolling blackouts was also introduced to keep total demand below supply. By switching off power to 10 million homes around Tokyo, the utility company is able to keep the lights burning in the capital.
Or, at least that's the theory.
Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) warned on Thursday that an unpredictable and massive blackout faced Tokyo that evening. The cold weather had led many to switch on heaters and demand was getting dangerously close to TEPCO's remaining 33.5GW capacity.
Tokyo responded. Almost immediately offices let people out early, railway operators cut services and unneeded lights and appliances were switched off in homes. The city escaped the predicted power cuts, but for how long that can continue is unclear.
TEPCO has warned the power cuts will last until at least April, and even after that the need to conserve energy will continue.
Several of the Fukushima Daiichi reactors will likely never come back online. Tokyo's energy worries are largely dependant on when or if the other power stations can be restarted.
By Martyn Williams
March 18, 2011 05:43 AM
IDG News Service - East Japan entered its fifth day of power rationing on Friday, with no end to the planned blackouts in sight. The power shortages began last week when a massive earthquake and tsunami knocked nuclear power stations offline. The local electrical utility can't make up the shortfall by importing power from another region, though, because Japan lacks a national power grid, a consequence of a decision taken in the late 1800s.
Japan's electricity system got its start in 1883 with the founding of Tokyo Electric Light Co. Demand quickly grew and in 1895 the company bought electricity generation equipment from Germany's AEG. In west Japan the same evolution was taking place, and Osaka Electric Lamp imported equipment from General Electric.
The AEG equipment produced electricity at Europe's 50Hz (hertz, or cycles per second) standard while the General Electric gear matched the U.S. 60Hz standard. That probably didn't seem important at the time -- after all, light bulbs are happy on either frequency -- but the impact of those decisions is being seen today.
All of eastern Japan, including Tokyo and the disaster-struck region to the north, is standardized on 50Hz supply while the rest of the country uses 60Hz.
Connecting the two grids is possible, but it requires frequency changing stations. Three such facilities exist, but they have a total capacity of 1 gigawatt.
When the quake hit, it shut down 11 reactors including three that were in operation at the Fukushima Daiichi plant that is now at the center of Japan's nuclear problems. With the 11 reactors offline, 9.7GW was gone from eastern Japan's electricity production capacity.
And that's the root of Tokyo's current electricity problems: utility companies in west Japan are unable to make up for all of the lost power.
On Monday the government appealed to east Japan to cut consumption and the region responded. Lighting has been reduced in offices, neon signs are dark and passengers in some stations are being asked to take the stairs instead of the escalator.
A series of daily rolling blackouts was also introduced to keep total demand below supply. By switching off power to 10 million homes around Tokyo, the utility company is able to keep the lights burning in the capital.
Or, at least that's the theory.
Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) warned on Thursday that an unpredictable and massive blackout faced Tokyo that evening. The cold weather had led many to switch on heaters and demand was getting dangerously close to TEPCO's remaining 33.5GW capacity.
Tokyo responded. Almost immediately offices let people out early, railway operators cut services and unneeded lights and appliances were switched off in homes. The city escaped the predicted power cuts, but for how long that can continue is unclear.
TEPCO has warned the power cuts will last until at least April, and even after that the need to conserve energy will continue.
Several of the Fukushima Daiichi reactors will likely never come back online. Tokyo's energy worries are largely dependant on when or if the other power stations can be restarted.
look like PRC FT/FW are first to bail out in crisis
There is real fear in Tokyo about radiation despite official reassurances that the risk is low. Many foreigners have been leaving the country. The BBC's Clive Myrie says many busloads of Chinese nationals had arrived at Niigata airport. And some Japanese people are moving out of the area, our reporter says
China evacuates citizens from Japan quake areasBen Blanchard and Sui-Lee Wee, Reuters March 16, 2011, 3:15 am Send
BEIJING, March 15 (Reuters) - China began evacuating its citizens Tuesday from areas worst affected by Japan's earthquake, tsunami and nuclear crisis, making it the first foreign government to pull its people from the country.
Five full busloads of people left from hard-hit Sendai on Japan's northeast coast heading for Niigata on the opposite side of Japan, from where they will be flown back to China, the state-run Xinhua news agency said, without giving figures.
A complete evacuation could take time owing to a lack of transport and petrol, the report added. China's embassy in Japan is organizing the operation.
China's Ministry of Commerce said there are more than 22,000 of its citizens in the affected areas.
The Chinese government is becoming well-versed in pulling out its citizens from trouble spots. In late February, it evacuated more than 30,000 of its citizens from turmoil in Libya.
As of 4 p.m. (4:00 a.m. ET) Tuesday, China's nuclear safety agency had detected no abnormal radiation, the ministry said in the statement on its website (www.mep.gov.cn).
"Our ministry will continue closely monitoring developments in the accident at the Fukushima Number One Plant, will strengthen monitoring for radiation, and will swiftly report information about this," said the nuclear safety agency of China's Ministry of Environmental Protection.
Radiation levels fell at Japan's quake-stricken nuclear power plant on the northeast coast, the Japanese government said Tuesday, after an earlier spike in radiation.
Winds were expected to carry any radiation from Japan out over the Pacific Ocean and away from China for at least the next three days, the China Meteorological Administration said in a separate statement on its website (www.cma.gov.cn).
However, China will monitor imports at entry ports for any sign of radiation, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine said in a brief statement on its website (www.aqsiq.gov.cn).
"Owing to the seriousness of and uncertainty surrounding the accident at the Fukushima nuclear plant, the administration has already asked local bureaus to strengthen their risk analysis of the entry of radioactive materials, and to ... monitor for nuclear and radioactive materials at entry ports," the quality watchdog said. It gave no further details.
Radiation levels in Russia's Far East rose slightly on Tuesday but stayed within normal levels, Russian officials said.
Japan's nearest neighbor South Korea said radiation levels remained within a normal range on the peninsula, but added it was taking precautionary measures such as equipping the country's main Incheon airport with monitors to check incoming passengers.
Like China, South Korea said the weather forecast indicated westerly and north-westerly winds would blow toward Japan over the next couple of days.
(Additional reporting by Chris Buckley and Michael Martina in Beijing and Soo Ai Peng in Shanghai; Alison Leung in Hong Kong; Jack Kim in Seoul; Editing by Andrew Marshall)
There is real fear in Tokyo about radiation despite official reassurances that the risk is low. Many foreigners have been leaving the country. The BBC's Clive Myrie says many busloads of Chinese nationals had arrived at Niigata airport. And some Japanese people are moving out of the area, our reporter says
China evacuates citizens from Japan quake areasBen Blanchard and Sui-Lee Wee, Reuters March 16, 2011, 3:15 am Send
BEIJING, March 15 (Reuters) - China began evacuating its citizens Tuesday from areas worst affected by Japan's earthquake, tsunami and nuclear crisis, making it the first foreign government to pull its people from the country.
Five full busloads of people left from hard-hit Sendai on Japan's northeast coast heading for Niigata on the opposite side of Japan, from where they will be flown back to China, the state-run Xinhua news agency said, without giving figures.
A complete evacuation could take time owing to a lack of transport and petrol, the report added. China's embassy in Japan is organizing the operation.
China's Ministry of Commerce said there are more than 22,000 of its citizens in the affected areas.
The Chinese government is becoming well-versed in pulling out its citizens from trouble spots. In late February, it evacuated more than 30,000 of its citizens from turmoil in Libya.
As of 4 p.m. (4:00 a.m. ET) Tuesday, China's nuclear safety agency had detected no abnormal radiation, the ministry said in the statement on its website (www.mep.gov.cn).
"Our ministry will continue closely monitoring developments in the accident at the Fukushima Number One Plant, will strengthen monitoring for radiation, and will swiftly report information about this," said the nuclear safety agency of China's Ministry of Environmental Protection.
Radiation levels fell at Japan's quake-stricken nuclear power plant on the northeast coast, the Japanese government said Tuesday, after an earlier spike in radiation.
Winds were expected to carry any radiation from Japan out over the Pacific Ocean and away from China for at least the next three days, the China Meteorological Administration said in a separate statement on its website (www.cma.gov.cn).
However, China will monitor imports at entry ports for any sign of radiation, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine said in a brief statement on its website (www.aqsiq.gov.cn).
"Owing to the seriousness of and uncertainty surrounding the accident at the Fukushima nuclear plant, the administration has already asked local bureaus to strengthen their risk analysis of the entry of radioactive materials, and to ... monitor for nuclear and radioactive materials at entry ports," the quality watchdog said. It gave no further details.
Radiation levels in Russia's Far East rose slightly on Tuesday but stayed within normal levels, Russian officials said.
Japan's nearest neighbor South Korea said radiation levels remained within a normal range on the peninsula, but added it was taking precautionary measures such as equipping the country's main Incheon airport with monitors to check incoming passengers.
Like China, South Korea said the weather forecast indicated westerly and north-westerly winds would blow toward Japan over the next couple of days.
(Additional reporting by Chris Buckley and Michael Martina in Beijing and Soo Ai Peng in Shanghai; Alison Leung in Hong Kong; Jack Kim in Seoul; Editing by Andrew Marshall)
Across Japan, people stood for a minute of silence to mark the moment, exactly one week ago, when a magnitude 9 earthquake struck, leaving devastation in its wake. Here, a group of rescue workers in Rikuzentakata, Iwate prefecture, stand among the rubble to remember.
People attempting to evacuate from Japan fill Narita International Airport on March 18, 2011 in Narita, Chiba, Japan.
A staff member of an airline attempts to calm people rushing buy flight tickets at a ticket counter in Narita International Airport on March 18, 2011 in Narita, Chiba, Japan
Lights are turned off during rolling blackouts in Misato City, Saitama Prefecture, after an earthquake and tsunami hit northern Japan in this picture taken by Kyodo News on March 18, 2011. Tokyo Electric Power Co has announced rolling blackouts after its power generation was cut due to damage from an earthquake and tsunami to its Fukushima Daiichi power plant, where it is struggling to prevent reactor meltdowns. Mandatory Credit.
Neon signs on electronics shops are tuned off to save energy in Tokyo's Akihabara district March 18, 2011. Amidst fears of a nuclear catastrophe following last week's earthquake and tsunami in northeastern Japan, a smaller than usual number of foreign tourists were seen in the popular electronics shopping district.
A replica of the Statue of Liberty stands amongst rubble on March 18, 2011 in Ishinomaki, Japan. Residents have begun returning to their homes to began the massive cleanup operation caused by a 9.0 magnitude strong earthquake that struck on March 11 off the coast of north-eastern Japan.
A staff member of the Malaysian Atomic Energy Licensing Board checks the nuclear radiation level on passengers arriving from Japan at Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Sepang, Malaysia, Friday, March 18, 2011. The Japanese government acknowledged Friday that it was overwhelmed by the scale of last week's twin natural disasters, slowing the response to the nuclear crisis that was triggered by the earthquake and tsunami. (AP Photo)
A staff member of the Malaysian Atomic Energy Licensing Board scans for possible nuclear radiation on Yeoh Yun Ci, 3, after she arrived with her family on a flight from Narita International Airport in Japan, at Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Sepang, outside Kuala Lumpur March 18, 2011. Malaysia may step up checks on air travellers after South Korea reported unusually high levels of radiation on three airline passengers arriving from Japan on Thursday, the government said.
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