Nuclear Disaster in Japan – workers and citizens at high risk

Earthlife Africa branches Namibia (Bertchen Kohrs) and Cape Town (Muna Lakhani) writes:

THE massive explosion following a cooling problem at one of Fukushima’s nuclear reactors, has not only released radiation and other toxic compounds, but has created an untenable situation for workers at Fukushima’s other nuclear reactors, especially given that a state of emergency has been declared for five reactors at the two plants.

Latest news is that a hydrogen explosion is now possible at the No. 3 reactor at Fukushima 1. Workers are being exposed to the ‘allowable’ annual dose of radiation every hour that they remain on site. The danger is not over. The measuring of Caesium at the plant indicates that a meltdown has indeed taken place, which raises the levels of radiation released to catastrophic proportions. The reactors have all been shut down.

The reactor core remains hot for days after shutdown, however, so workers have been busy ensuring that the fuel rods do not melt down. For this, the cooling systems need to be operational requiring a power source. But the earthquake has disrupted the back-up supplies of power including diesel generators. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) supplied batteries and coolant in the interim.

They are now flushing the highly radioactive core with seawater which will cause massive seawater contamination whilst preventing a full-scale Chernobyl-type meltdown. This is an act of desperation and unprecedented. Platitudes by the Japanese government and nuclear industry suggesting that the radiation threat is minimal, must be treated with great caution, as reports confirm that not only has the containment been breached, and that ‘venting’ is taking place, but also that radiation levels at about 1000 times higher than normal have been measured.

The 24-hour monitoring that is supposed to happen as a matter of course, has been shutdown (www/nu/pamp/ index-j.html) – Japanese activists suggest that this is so that the public and the world at large will not be told how much radiation has and is being released. It took local activists many hours to get the exclusion zone expanded from the initial 10km to 20km, which, while not completely safe, helps limit harm to local residents.

Earthlife sincerely hopes that the situation will soon be under control and that the impact to the people and the environment will be minimal. We call upon the nuclear industry, and the Namibian and South African governments, to take this disaster seriously, and abandon nuclear power plans for our country. Not only are sustainable and safe alternatives cheaper than nuclear power, but they are also better solutions to the creation of decent work and energy security, as well as the best solutions to limit climate change.

Muna Lakhani from the Earthlife Africa, Cape Town Branch says: “The public should note that the existing nuclear power plant at Koeberg is on a geological fault on the Cape Fold Belt with the last destructive large earthquake occurring in 1809. Interesting also is that if we were to apply the 20km exclusion/evacuation zone (which has been applied to Fukushima) to Koeberg, this would mean evacuating most of Cape Town.”