Fukushima Aftermath

Radiation exposure, how are the children doing and what is the Japanese government doing in light of the Fukushima disaster?

Fukushima, Japan- It’s been a little over 5 months since the Fukushima nuclear disaster that occurred back on March 11^th.  During that time The BQB covered the story extensively from analyzing the actual incident in Fukushima to the direct aftermath, however no one could have seen the silent horror that is developing.

TEPCO released a statement yesterday on their website:

Another earthquake in the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant area on 8/20/2011

With another earthquake, TEPCO assures that it has not added to the Fukushima disaster however at this point one wonders if it can get much worse.  That is until you see the pictures of children lining up to get tested for radiation exposure, results that Japan’s Nuclear Safety Commission refused to release.  Mark Willacy ABC’s North Asia correspondent noted that Japan’s Nuclear Safety Commission even went as far to remove the data pertaining to the results from its website, citing privacy reasons.

Also on TEPCO’s webpage is a link taking those who inquire to the status of the Fukushima Daiichi and Fukushima Diane Nuclear Power Stations.

How are those affected in the Fukushima nuclear disaster fairing?  During April I covered a story on the animals in the Fukushima nuclear disaster after watching Anderson Cooper on AC360 discuss their situation.

20 km from the Fukushima Daiichi plant, a group of people cloaked from head to toe in white protective garments, gather for a memorial service in memory of the victims lost in the nuclear disaster.  Former residents of Ohkuma-cho appear more like medical doctors we see in movies like ET or Independence Day, getting ready to operate on extraterrestrial organisms.  Sparse hints of color come from small bouquets of flowers the residents hold in their hands ready to lay at the site in memory of the Fukushima Daiichi victims.

ABC News bought a little sunshine into the Fukushima disaster media coverage by releasing their story on the Sydney Rainbow Stay Project.  Yukiko Hirano formed the Sydney Rainbow Stay Project in hopes to take the Fukushima children out of the aftermath of the March disaster and into a better place in Sydney, Australia.  Think about it, children need freedom to go outside and play, exercise their imagination and know that at the end of the day they have a place they can call home.  Unfortunately for the children who were affected by the Fukushima Daiichi disaster that is not the case.

Finally the NY Times breaks the silence surrounding safety and the Fukushima disaster as Two Voices Are Heard After Years of Futility.  Describing the pair as ready and willing to stare down the rich and powerful, the NY Times releases how a Yuichi Kaido, a self-effacing lawyer and Mizuho Fukushima, a firebrand lawmaker are a pair of antinuclear activists who will be heard.

Over the past three decades the couple has been fighting against nuclear reactors like Fukushima Daiichi’s, claiming they are dangerous.  Parliament casted aside Ms. Fukushima’s Socialist Party and antinuclear platform only to have karma come back around when the Fukushima disaster proved the point the pair had been trying to make.  Unfortunately Mr. Kaido and Ms. Fukushima were right in the end.

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