Fukushima Nuclear Radiation Has Contaminated the Entire Pacific Ocean – And It’s Going to Get Worse By Whitney Webb Global Research

Fukushima Nuclear Radiation Has Contaminated the Entire Pacific Ocean – And It’s Going to Get Worse

By Whitney Webb

Global Research, October 02, 2016

True Activist 29 September 2016

Region: Asia, Canada, USA

Theme: Environment

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What was the most dangerous nuclear disaster in world history? Most people would say the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in Ukraine, but they’d be wrong. In 2011, an earthquake, believed to be an aftershock of the 2010 earthquake in Chile, created a tsunami that caused a meltdown at the TEPCO nuclear power plant in Fukushima, Japan. Three nuclear reactors melted down and what happened next was the largest release of radiation into the water in the history of the world. Over the next three months, radioactive chemicals, some in even greater quantities than Chernobyl, leaked into the Pacific Ocean. However, the numbers may actually be much higher as Japanese official estimates have been proven by several scientists to be flawed in recent years.
If that weren’t bad enough, Fukushima continues to leak an astounding 300 tons of radioactive waste into the Pacific Ocean every day. It will continue do so indefinitely as the source of the leak cannot be sealed as it is inaccessible to both humans and robots due to extremely high temperatures.
GR. Editor’s  Note 
Tepco has submitted to our consideration a correction to the above statement which were reproducing at the foot of this article (scroll down)

Credit – NOAA
Read More: http://www.trueactivist.com/fukushima-radiation-has-contaminated-the-entire-pacific-ocean-and-its-going-to-get-worse/

It should come as no surprise, then, that Fukushima has contaminated the entire Pacific Ocean in just five years. This could easily be the worst environmental disaster in human history and it is almost never talked about by politicians, establishment scientists, or the news. It is interesting to note that TEPCO is using General Electric (also known as GE) technology (5 of the 6 nuclear reactors at Fukushima are General Electric Mark 1 reactors). Could this possibly explain the lack of news coverage Fukushima has received in the last five years? There is also evidence that GE knew about the poor condition of the Fukushima reactors for decades and did nothing. This led 1,400 Japanese citizens to sue GE for their role in the Fukushima nuclear disaster.

Radioactive Debris from Fukushima approaching North America’s western coast       Credit – RT

Even if we can’t see the radiation itself, some parts of North America’s western coast have been feeling the effects for years. Not long after Fukushima, fish in Canada began bleeding from their gills, mouths, and eyeballs. This “disease” has been ignored by the government and has decimated native fish populations, including the North Pacific herring. Elsewhere in Western Canada, independent scientists have measured a 300% increase in the level of radiation. According to them, the amount of radiation in the Pacific Ocean is increasing every year. Why is this being ignored by the mainstream media? It might have something to do with the fact that the US and Canadian governments have banned their citizens from talking about Fukushima so “people don’t panic.”

Credit – AP

Further south in Oregon, USA, starfish began losing legs and then disintegrating entirely when Fukushima radiation arrived there in 2013. Now, they are dying in record amounts, putting the entire oceanic ecosystem in that area at risk. However, government officials say Fukushima is not to blame even though radiation in Oregon tuna tripled after Fukushima. In 2014, radiation on California beaches increased by 500 percent. In response, government officials said that the radiation was coming from a mysterious “unknown” source and was nothing to worry about.
However, Fukushima is having a bigger impact than just the West coast of North America. Scientists are now saying that the Pacific Ocean is already radioactive and is currently at least 5-10 times more radioactive than when the US government dropped numerous nuclear bombs in the Pacific during and after World War II. If we don’t start talking about Fukushima soon, we could all be in for a very unpleasant surprise.
Correction by TEPCO  
Thank you for recently covering the decommissioning work at Fukushima Daiichi. There are several points that need to be corrected regarding water management at the site. I’ve listed some points of the current situation at Fukushima Daiichi below:
1. TEPCO is not a subsidiary of General Electric. You can learn more about us on http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/holdings/index-e.html. We would welcome the chance to answer questions about the company and discuss the article. Please note:
2. Water is not leaking out of the reactors into the Pacific Ocean. It is controlled by keeping the water levels inside the reactors lower than the surrounding groundwater, which allows water to flow only into, not out of, the reactors. The amount exceeding that which is needed for cooling is pumped up out of the reactors and treated. Some of the treated water is poured back into the reactors to cool the fuel inside, and the rest is further treated until it only contains Tritium, and stored in tanks on site.
3. Water that flows around the reactors does not come in contact with the water retained in the reactors and does not flow into the Pacific Ocean. It is either blocked by a large underground wall constructed along the port or pumped up, treated to a level safer than the WHO drinking water standards, and then discharged into the protected port.
4. Rainwater that runs on the surface of the premises is collected in several drainage channels and discharged into the protected port. The port area is isolated from the Pacific Ocean by dikes, and the seabed is paved to protect the surrounding environment. The water quality in the port and the surrounding ocean is monitored daily, and the measurement results show no significant levels of radiation.
To see the actual measurement data, go to: http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/nu/fukushima-np/f1/smp/index-e.html 
5. Fuel in the reactors continues to be cooled to below 35 degrees Celsius by circulating cooling water. It is because of radiation levels inside, not temperatures that humans cannot stay inside the reactors for a long time. Robots are being used to do the work needed inside the reactors.
Tatsu Yamagishi, TEPCO

The original source of this article is True Activist

Copyright © Whitney Webb, True Activist, 2016

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