Would a nuclear meltdown of all 6 reactors at the Fukushima Dai-ichi complex in Japan mean the end of the world as we know it? Of course not. But it would be a complete and total nightmare. Back in 1986, the Chernobyl meltdown spread nuclear radiation all over the northern hemisphere. According to some estimates, over a million deaths can be attributed to that disaster. Unfortunately, now we are facing a situation that could develop into the equivalent of "many Chernobyls". Radiation levels are rising all over northern Japan and millions of Japanese are trying to figure out what to do.
Should those living in Tokyo stay where they are or should they go? Many Japanese are already voting with their feet. Right now there is a mass exodus of people out of the city of Tokyo. But if everyone in region wanted to flee, where would they all go? The truth is that there are over 30 million people in and around Tokyo. There is no way that they can all go some place else.
If something is not done quickly, this is going to turn into an unprecedented nightmare. Unfortunately, the authorities that are handling this in Japan don't seem to have any answers. One anonymous senior nuclear industry executive told The Times Of India that Japanese power industry managers are "basically in a full-scale panic" and that "they don't know what to do".
The biggest problem at the Fukushima Dai-ichi complex right now is the spent fuel rods. The spent fuel rods remain extremely hot and extremely radioactive for years after they are done being used in a nuclear reactor. In order to keep them cool, they are kept in huge pools of water. In the Fukushima Dai-ichi complex, someone decided that it would be a good idea to locate these spent fuel rod pools near the top of the buildings where the nuclear reactors are housed.
Posted below is a video which explains all this in great detail. Rachel Maddow is perhaps the most liberal news anchor in all of television, and a lot of what she says is complete and utter nonsense, but in this instance she does a really good job of breaking down exactly what spent fuel rods are and why they are a bigger threat right now than the nuclear reactors are....
If these spent fuel rods are not submerged in water they will degrade very, very rapidly and if hundreds of them are allowed to degrade that would be a complete nightmare.
A recent article by Paul Joseph Watson noted that there are approximately 600,000 spent fuel rods being stored at the Fukushima Dai-ichi complex....
The Fukushima Daiichi plant has seven pools dedicated to spent fuel rods. These are located at the top of six reactor buildings – or were until explosions and fires ravaged the plant. On the ground level there is a common pool in a separate building that was critically damaged by the tsunami. Each reactor building pool holds 3,450 fuel rod assemblies and the common pool holds 6,291 fuel rod assemblies. Each assembly holds sixty-three fuel rods. In short, the Fukushima Daiichi plant contains over 600,000 spent fuel rods – a massive amount of radiation that will soon be released into the atmosphere.
Each of these 600,000 spent fuel rods is a potential "dirty bomb".
Are you concerned yet?
What is even more frightening for those of us that live in the United States is that the jet stream takes air from over Japan and transports it directly to the west coast of the United States.
The following YouTube video demonstrates this very clearly....
Everyone agrees that radiation from the nuclear disaster in Japan will reach the United States.
The debate is over whether or not it will be enough to be harmful to human health.
Hopefully we will not be facing high levels of radiation in the United States, but it is always good to be prepared.
So what should one do if the worst happens?
Well, I would recommend checking out an article entitled "How To Survive Nuclear Armageddon" by Tom Horn. It contains a wealth of information on how to deal with nuclear fallout.
Right about now there are lots of people in Japan that wish they had that type of information.
If the worst case scenario plays out and all 6 of the nuclear reactors at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear complex melt down it will not be the end of the world, but it would be an unprecedented disaster.
Let us hope and pray that such a thing does not happen. But right now the nuclear crisis in Japan is getting worse by the day.
So what do you all think about the unfolding nuclear nightmare in Japan? Please feel free to leave a comment with your opinion below....
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Actually, there is no debate about it being harmful or not. The answer is “not”.
“Rising levels” of radiation is also not an issue. You experience “rising levels” whenever the sun comes up, or you take an airplane someplace… and people *pay* for that. You experience “rising levels” when you move from the lowlands up to the mountains.
Radiation is a requirement for life. Of course some types/dosages are harmful, while some appear to be beneficial. One must be specific.
More people in the US will be harmed by the potassium iodide pills they take out of fear of radiation, than of exposure to any “rising levels” of radiation.
Mankind now has VERY sensitive instruments that can detect the smallest changes in radioactivity… but detecting something is a very different thing than detecting any true danger.
This is really going to suck if it all releases into the atmosphere!!1
This planet is truly in a sad state. Radioactivity of some kinds are good. e.g. sunlight. Anyone who thinks this catastrophe (of man made radioactivity that’s out of control) is not going to do irreparable damage this beautiful green/blue planet of ours needs a frontal lobotomy and several rolls of rubber wallpaper.
I too pray that this can be controlled but how can you be optimistic after all the lies, deceit and bungling. You’d think after Chernobyl that safety procedures would have been looked at… but oh, no… that would be too expensive and obviously our planet is expendable… I suppose the powers that be have somewhere else to go.
I have family and friends in Japan and my heart goes out to them. I want them to come home but it’s their decision and they’re being told nothing by their own government other than not to worry “it’s all under control”… yeah, right.
I believe Albert Einstein once said that two things are infinite… the universe and human stupidity and he wasn’t totally sure about the universe.
Thank you Mr Snyder. I find all your writings to be informing and enlightening. Avid reader always – not a commenter generally, but this particular disaster really scares me to death
Lets hope in the long run everything turns out fine.
Let’s face it… if the world didn’t suck we’d probably all fall off.
Cheers
Kaz
Guys, every American right now is inhaling 5 radioactive particles per day. I heard it on the radio from Andie Gundersen. So if even one gives you a cancer, that means that it is a sure thing that every American is five times sure to die every day. Of course, this may take some time for the cancers to develop. I would love this to not have been so, and I wonder who is going to stay alive – just people that did not inhale ANY particle – what are the chances of that? They say ten pounds of plutopnium are enough to kill the population of the planet ten times over if distributed evenly. AND there are ten TONS of plutonium in Fuklushima. So we are dead 10.000 or 100.000 times over.
Obviously I should move into a cave somewhere and place a giant filter on the entrance. Exit the cave only in emergency and to get water, in a cosmonaut suit. OK, sounds good, but I am in the Eastern hemisphere and I must have already swollen few particles… and I cannot take all the people I love with me…
Almost 200 Japanese were hospitalized, shortly following the initial disaster, for radiation exposure. Everybody living within a radius of 12 miles of the Fukushima nuclear plant had to evacuate the area. For some reason the survivors from Hiroshima have lived well past the average expected life span in their country? I am not saying that nuclear radiation is good, it’s just that I am a bit confuse the real effect of the radiation.