Fukushima: Japan's stricken
nuclear power plant finally stabilises
Fukushima Power Plant
EMF Computer Protection
Magnetic Field Detector
16 Dec 2011
Japan's damaged nuclear power plant has finally stabilised
more than nine months after the March 11 earthquake and
tsunami triggered the world's worst atomic crisis in
decades.
In a long-awaited announcement, Yoshihiko Noda, Japan's
prime minister, confirmed that a corner had been turned
after workers achieved a state of "cold shutdown" at
Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.
Confirmation of its stability marked the end of the crisis
phase at the nuclear plant, located 150 miles northeast of
Tokyo, after months of extensive work to regain control over
crucial cooling functions knocked out by the disaster.
Despite its newfound stability, the nuclear issue remains
far from resolved, with its full closure likely to take up
to 40 years and the surroundings requiring extensive
radiation decontamination before they are once again
habitable.
A region spanning 930 square miles of land around the plant,
which is roughly the size of Luxembourg, will need to be
rigorously cleaned, before the government will consider
allowing evacuated residents to return home.
Making the announcement, Mr Noda said: "The reactors at the
Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant have reached a state
of cold shutdown. Now that we have achieved stability in the
reactors, a major concern for the nation has been resolved."
However, he added: "There are many issues that remain. Our
battle is not over."
News of the stability of the plant coincided with the
arrival of the first pieces of tsunami debris from Japan's
disaster zone on beaches in the West Coast of the United
States.
Vast expanses of floating debris have slowly been making
their way across the Pacific since the powerful tsunami
swept inland across Japan's northeastern coastline.
More than nine months after the disaster, oceanographers
have now located a series of large black floating buoys,
believed to be first pieces of debris washed up onto the
shores of the West Coat of the US.
It is believed that the flotsam was the first to hit the
West Coast shoreline due to its lack of weight, having been
pushed ahead of the main floating debris piles after
catching the wind.
The first buoy was displayed in a local college, with
experts in the region urging the discovery of debris to be
treated respectfully, with any identifiable pieces being
returned to Japan.
"All debris should be treated with a great reverence and
respect," Curtis Ebbesmeyer, an oceanographer.
Floating rubbish islands stretching dozens of miles in
length have been spotted slowly edging away from Japan and
towards the West Coast since the March 11 disaster.
From entire segments of wooden homes, furniture and
appliances to cars and boats, the rubbish islands are
creating growing concern due to environmental pollution as
well as shipping hazards.
The possibility of human bodies being included in the debris
is also high, bearing in mind the thousands of victims of
the disaster who are still missing, believed to have been
swept out to sea.
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