Apr 05 2011

How the Japanese Are Surviving Fukushima

fukushimaThe Japanese government just approved of the dumping of over 10,000 tons of contaminated water into the Pacific Ocean to make room for more highly contaminated water. Workers at the Fukushima Daiichi plant run by the Tokyo Electric Power Company or TEPCO have been spraying water to cool the plant down and prevent a melt-down. Now, they’re running out of storage space for the used water which has more than 100 times the legal limit allowed to discharge into the ocean. The Japanese government has said it was an emergency measure and that there were no other options. It also said that the release of the toxic water would have no effect on danger levels to seafood. Meanwhile, TEPCO workers have been trying all manner of creative solutions to block the large crack in the reactor from which contaminated water is seeping out. Over the weekend, they used sawdust, shredded newspapers, and even chemicals used in diapers, to no avail. It is looking increasingly likely that all four reactors affected will end up being scrapped.

GUEST: Aileen Mioko Smith, executive director of Green Action, a Japanese environmental group.

Find out more at http://fukushima.greenaction-japan.org.

One response so far

One Response to “How the Japanese Are Surviving Fukushima”

  1. Auctioneeron 06 Apr 2011 at 9:36 am

    Hope things are well back in Japan

  • Program Archives