Crisis in Japan Seen from Korea - Part 8

In my previous post, I discussed the macabre trade-off that Japanese officials dealing with the Fukushima nuclear plant are faced with.  On one hand, it is possible that a nuclear meltdown occurs at the plant.  On the other, highly radio-active runoff can escape into the soil, groundwater, or into the sea.  They must choose which is the most dangerous possibility.

In two interviews, aired on the CBC news in Canada during the last few weeks, experts gave detailed explanations of how a nuclear meltdown could occur, and how plumes of radio-active pollution are emitted from the Fukushima plant.  These videos are worth a view, as they are highly informative.
 
The extent of the damage at Fukushima has recently been made public by the unveiling of a series of aerial photos taken of the nuclear plant, and it was announced that 4 of the Fukushima reactors will have to be decommissioned.  Today, workers at Fukushima continued to evacuate radio-active water from buildings and water collection vessels at the plant.  But officials of the company that owns the Fukushima reactors are not sure how exactly they should proceed to finally regain control of them.  Thankfully, French and American nuclear experts have agreed to help.

In Japan, questions are being raised about the safety of the people living between 20km and 30km of the Fukushima plant, as these people have not been ordered to evacuate their homes.  The Japanese government has defended its decision to advise these people to stay indoors, rather than ordering them to evacuate.  Concerns about the safety of the workers at the Fukushima plant are also being raised, as not all of them have been given radiation monitoring equipment to carry with them as they work.  This is disconcerting, as without this equipment, workers cannot know how much radiation they have been exposed to.  An article in the Guardian has suggested that cutting edge stem cell technology could be used to treat these workers should they suffer illnesses as a result of their exposure to radiation.  If I was one of these workers, I would find very little comfort in this, and would want to have a radiation monitor to know exactly how much radiation I am exposed to.

In Korea, a comment published by the KBS called for a measured response to the possibility of rising radiation levels in Korea, but not an over-reaction.  It was also reported that officials in Seoul wanted to test the city's tap water.  Such tests were conducted and no significant concentrations of radio-active pollutants were reported to be found.

Radio-activity measurements taken throughout Korea can be found on the web-site of the Integrated Environment Radiation Monitoring Network.  And the Guardian is maintaining an interesting data page summarizing the situation at the Fukushima nuclear plant.