Japan: Crisis at Fukushima I/Daiichi and Fukushima II/Daini Plants

Feature story - March 14, 2011
First the earthquake, then the Tsunami, and now a severe nuclear threat: Greenpeace's thoughts are with the Japanese people, hoping that a worst-case scenario will be avoided.

Reacting to ongoing reports of cooling problems and the continuing release of radioactive materials from the Fukushima I/Daiichi and Fukushima II/Diani Plants, Jan Beranek, Head of Greenpeace International’s Nuclear Campaign said:

“Our thoughts remain with the Japanese people, who in the aftermath of the earthquake and tsunami are now faced with a dreadful situation, where instead of being able to plough all resources into rescue and relief efforts, the government is dealing with a crisis caused by the inherent and inescapable risks of nuclear power.”

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Japan's 2007 Quake: The clearing up of earthquake damage to homes and buildings. The earthquake occurred 10 km out to sea on the coast beside the Kashiwazaki Kariwa Nuclear Plant, causing damage in the town and the deaths of 10 people. The Nuclear Plant also suffered damage, resulting in leaks of nuclear materials. Greenpeace sent a specialist rapid reaction team to the Kashiwazaki Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant soon after the earthquake to make independent nuclear checks in cooperation with national community groups.

“Despite Government statements, the crisis at Fukushima continues to be a race against time, and is clearly not under control. We hope a worst-case scenario will be avoided, and that authorities continue to take urgent to protect to people against the irradiation, while contamination apparently continues to be released into the atmosphere.“

“Current reports suggest new emerging problems with the cooling of at least two reactors units one and three at Fukushima I-Daiichi, both of which apparently suffered some melting of the fuel rods, causing a release of radiation that has been detected outside. Unit three uses so-called MOX fuel that contains plutonium oxide and releases significantly more heat even after the reactor is shut. In a situation where there is melting or damage to fuel in the reactor, several times more radiactive gases would be released, compared to same amount of normal uranium fuel used in reactor number one. All of this is extremely worrying, and tells us that the the crisis is far from over.“ 

Testing Near the Kashiwazaki Kariwa Nuclear Plant (Japan: 2007) zoom
Testing Near the Kashiwazaki Kariwa Nuclear Plant (Japan: 2007)

Greenpeace radiation expert Rianne Teule, assisted by Stan Vincent, checks for nuclear contamination with a Gamma Spectrometer on the beach beside Kashiwazaki Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant, which suffered damage during 2007's earthquake. The quake occurred 10 km out to sea on the coast beside the Kashiwazaki Kariwa Nuclear Plant, causing damage in the town and the deaths of 10 people. The Nuclear Plant suffered damage, resulting in leaks of nuclear materials. Greenpeace sent a specialist rapid reaction team to the Kashiwazaki Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant soon after the earthquake to make independent nuclear checks in cooperation with national community groups.

“Greenpeace is concerned about the lack of facts and transparency about the total amount of radiation that has already been released, the exact state of cooling in all the reactors, and about whether the spent fuel ponds are secured - they contain large amounts of radiation and are located outside of the containment – any damage to them would release contamination directly to the atmosphere, We request that Japan’s government share this information with the public immediately.“ 

“Nuclear reactors are a dirty and dangerous power source, and will always be vulnerable to the potentially deadly combination of human error, design failure and natural disaster. Greenpeace is calling for the phase out of existing reactors around the world, and no construction of new commercial nuclear reactors. Governments should instead invest in renewable energy resources that are not only environmentally sound but also affordable and reliable.”

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