A worker died after falling inside of a contaminated water storage tank inside the radioactive Fukushima nuclear plant while preparing to test for leaks. He is one of many who have lost their lives to the meltdown of this plant, and one of two only in the past year.
Three years have past since the tragic earthquake and tsunami caused a nuclear meltdown in Fukushima, Japan making the plant one of the most dangerous places on earth. Since then, workers have been slowly taking apart the plant in order to make it safe again. It is expected to take billions of dollars and decades of time to go through the tedious and dangerous process of taking the plant apart and decontaminating what is left of the surrounding area.
Inside the plant there is more radiation than was in the bomb dropped in Hiroshima during WWII. Only workers wearing protective gear are allowed inside what is deemed the "red zone," which is the most contaminated area including the plant itself. Although the amount of radiation that was released is undetermined, researchers are under the impression that the contamination only exists within Japan and the North Pacific Ocean.
Over a hundred fifty thousand Fukushima residents fled Fukushima after the accident, and many still remain displaced. The ones who have returned to their lives within Fukushima must live in constant fear and anxiety of radiation poisoning from the air as well as the food. Workers have also been spending the past three years digging up all of the earth and soil that was contaminated during the meltdown. It will be a long while before the land is repaired enough to once again grow crops the way it did before.
The devastating accident has brought to light the dangers of nuclear energy and the kind of harm it can cause if things go awry. Hopefully in the next few years the situation in Fukushima will improve, people will be able to safely return to their home, and no more lives will be lost to this tragedy.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
