The Fukushima nuclear disaster isn’t over, the radioactive waste is still leaking, and it isn’t just a Japanese problem.

I remember exactly where I was when news of the 2011 Japanese earthquake and tsunami broke in the US. Sitting on the edge of a hotel room bed, I watched in horror as it became obvious that the nuclear power plant at Fukushima had been seriously affected.

The fact that someone thought it was a good idea to build a nuclear power plant on the coast, in an areas known to see frequent earthquakes and tsunamis is mind boggling, but it’s nothing compared to what happened immediately after the meltdown. Within days, so-called “nuclear experts” were reassuring the rest of the world, that while Japan was screwed, we had nothing to fear.

Well, fast forward a year or two, and Fukushima is still a nuclear disaster. Just days ago, the Japanese government declared a state of emergency, this time because of a build-up of radioactive groundwater near the plant.

In July, Tepco (the energy company that operates the Fukushima plant) admitted for the first time that radioactive groundwater had breached an underground barrier and been leaking into the sea, but said it was taking steps to prevent it. The head of a Nuclear Regulatory Authority task force, Shinji Kinjo, recently told the Reuters news agency that the countermeasures were only a temporary solution, however, and groundwater contamination was imminent.

[Let’s pause here for a note about water: There is only one ocean. All the rivers, streams, and aquifers of the world are replenished by rain evaporated from that same ocean. It is complete foolishness to talk about this in terms of ‘Japan’s water’ or ‘American water’. It’s our water. And thanks to the Fukushima nuclear disaster, it’s all contaminated with toxic levels of radiation. That’s what makes this next bit particularly disturbing.]

“While the government has deemed some areas safe enough for part-time access, locals and activists say conflicting science and official secrecy surrounding the worst nuclear accident since Chernobyl have bankrupted public trust,” reports TIME. “On Wednesday, just weeks after beaches south of the reactor were reopened, plant officials admitted that up to 300 tons of contaminated water are flowing into the sea each day.”

The good news is this is less that what was flowing into the ocean immediately after the disaster. The bad news is, since its mostly groundwater, the type of radiation now making its way into our ocean poses even more risk to human and animal life.

“Soil can naturally absorb the cesium in groundwater, but other radionuclides, such as strontium and tritium, flow more freely through the soil into the ocean,” notes Scientific American. “Tritium represents the lowest radioactive threat to ocean life and humans compared with cesium and strontium[…]. By comparison, strontium poses a greater danger because it replaces the calcium in bones and stays for much longer in the body.”

Still think you have nothing to fear? A study published in the International Journal of Health Services found that thousands of Americans have already been affected by radiation drifting to our shores from Fukushima. Nuclear energy isn’t safe, it won’t ever be safe, and what happened at Fukushima is just another reason to get out of the dirty energy game for good.

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Image: NOAA

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With Japan at risk, the nuclear energy debate returns.

Japan’s nuclear power plants were supposed to be safe. Theoretically, one safety mechanism after the other would prevent damage to the plants in the event of an earthquake. But on March 11th, that theory was disproved when a massive earthquake and subsequent tsunami washed away backup generators that were designed to keep nuclear reactors cool in the event of a power outage.

Now, frantic efforts to cool the nuclear cores might not be enough. Four of the six nuclear reactors at the Fukushima-Daiichi plant have faced crises, and toxic radiation is threatening citizens that have already been through the trauma of losing loved ones and seeing their cities flattened to the ground.

For decades, America and other nations have held up Japan as a model of safe nuclear power. President Obama continues to assert that nuclear power is an essential part of a ‘clean energy economy’, and has called for over $50 billion in federal loan guarantees to build new nuclear power plants around the country.

There’s no doubt that we need viable alternatives to fossil fuels, and we need them as soon as possible. But in light of the disaster, we’ve got to ask ourselves: is nuclear power really the answer? What about ongoing environmental effects?

We like to think that major disasters simply won’t happen – and so do nuclear safety regulators and advisers. David Okrent, who advised the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission on reactor safety for 20 years, told Bloomberg that reactors are only designed for events that are highly probable, not for anything remotely approaching worst-case-scenario.

“It’s hard to quantify a rare event. When you get to rare events, the design is usually up-to-but-not-including.”

The 8.9-magnitude earthquake in Japan was certainly a rare event. Japan’s nuclear reactors were designed to withstand up to a 7.2. The designers of the Fukushima Daiichi plant even built a 25-foot tsunami wall between the ocean and the reactors – but the 30-foot wave triggered by the earthquake plowed right through it.

Proponents of nuclear power plants, even those built on major fault lines, are willing to accept the risk of such an event. After all, Mother Nature is unpredictable, and we can’t control when a natural disaster might strike or how powerful it will be. But it’s all too easy to be lulled into a false sense of security as decades pass in between major disasters.

California, which sits on the San Andreas and Hosgri faults as well as the Hayward-Rodgers Creek Fault, has a 99% chance of getting hit by a 6.7 or greater earthquake in the next 30 years. It’s also home to two coastal nuclear power plants, the Diablo Canyon Power Plant in San Luis Obispo County and the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station in San Clemente. Diablo Canyon officials believe that their tsunami walls are ‘robust’, but Japanese authorities said the same thing about Fukushima.

And what most Americans don’t realize is that when it comes to potential for catastrophic damage from an earthquake-induced nuclear meltdown at a power plant, California is pretty low on the list. The highest risk is in places you wouldn’t expect.

The reactor with the highest earthquake risk rating is actually the Indian Point Energy Center in Buchanan, New York, just 24 miles north of New York City. Other high-risk locations are found in Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Florida. Why would these locations be more prone to core damage from an earthquake, when they’re in areas with far less seismic activity? Mostly because plant designers consider earthquakes to be such a low risk here, they lowered their safety standards for the structures.

Nuclear power is often held up as a ‘clean’ source of energy, and when we’re talking emissions – especially compared to those released by coal-fired power plants – that’s true enough. But what do we do with the radioactive waste? Right now, without a central permanent repository, nuclear waste is stored near the facilities where it’s generated. A plan to turn Nevada’s Yucca Mountain into the nation’s dedicated disposal site was overturned by President Obama when Nevadans protested their backyard being turned into a radioactive wasteland – and can we blame them?

Part of the problem currently unfolding in Japan has to do with spent nuclear fuel rods, which are stored in pools of cooling water to contain high levels of radioactivity. Unlike the fuel rods used in the reactor vessel, spent fuel rods aren’t protected by a steel-and-concrete containment vessel designed to prevent leaks of radiation. Once water evaporates from the pool, the rods overheat and release radioactivity directly into the atmosphere. Clearly, this isn’t a great way to deal with the problem.

Accidental release of radioactivity isn’t unheard of even in the best of circumstances. Last year, the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) released a disturbing report detailing the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s inconsistent oversight of radioactive releases from nuclear power plants. UCS reports on over 400 accidental leaks, many of which remained undetected for years. These leaks have resulted in radioactivity contaminating the soil and nearby waterways.

Even beyond the issue of radioactivity, reliance on nuclear power introduces the need to mine a finite resource: uranium. Mines have already cropped up in places like the edge of the Grand Canyon, and more will be needed if the number of nuclear power plants in the U.S. increases as planned. Furthermore, uranium mining is an incredibly water-intensive process.

The fact of the matter is, nuclear power is risky, harmful to the environment, and expensive. Why should we accept this technology as a cleaner replacement for coal-fired plants when we could be using natural sources of power that are far safer? Large-scale solar and wind power generation projects, not to mention wave power, algae and other biofuels, offer literally endless sources of energy without the danger of wayward radioactivity. They will require a shift in research and development, to be sure. And it’s up to us to do so.

Editor’s note 3.18.11: the opening description of this article has been modified from the original version for tone. We appreciate constructive feedback from our readers.

Image: daveeza

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There is an unspeakable tragedy going on in Japan right now. It will continue to unfold before our eyes in the days, weeks, months, years, and even decades ahead. It will reach the coast of America. This may sound alarmist, but it isn’t. As the New York Times reported this morning:

“The fast-moving developments at the Fukushima No. 1 (Daiichi) plant, 150 miles north of Tokyo, catapulted the 4-day-old nuclear crisis to an entirely new level, threatening to overshadow even the massive damage and loss of life spawned by a devastating earthquake and tsunami.”

Now nor ever is the right time for panic. The multiple stricken reactors might not melt down. But that doesn’t mean that they won’t continue to emit health-threatening levels of radiation. If the wind shifts, and that radiation heads inland, people will be migrating from their homes, villages, maybe even cities. To where?

What are we to do? What can we do?

First, of course, we have to do whatever we can to help Japan. It’s the third richest economy in the world, but every dollar, every package, every plane or ship that lands with relief supplies will be welcome, not just for the physical support, but for the moral support. If they want to send over exchange students, we should take them. If Japanese businesses need help, their competitors here in the United States should help. If you’re a person of faith, pray.

And here in America? The current nuclear disaster is in Japan, but we have our own problems. Would you light a lump of coal and put it on your kitchen table while your family was in the house? Why is there more air pollution in the Powder River Basin of Idaho than there is in Los Angeles? What are we going to do if hydraulic fracking many hundreds of feet underground releases gas and toxic chemicals that contaminate one of our rivers?

Coal and natural gas are no healthier than nuclear power. At the end of the day, across the planet and across what will be the couple centuries of world history of burning massive amounts of fossil fuels for power, fossil fuels will end up impacting far more people than nuclear power.

America needs to do what it has always, until recently, done best – lead. We need to get out of the dirty, dangerous, unhealthy fuels of the past and lead the way into a clean, healthy and prosperous new energy future. We need to support the people, the politicians, the companies and the organizations that are trying to get us there.

Image: Hogeasdf

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