The Fukushima Disaster

On 11 March 2011, disaster struck Fukushima, Japan when an immense tsunami hit and caused massive equipment failure to the Fukushima Daiichi Power Plant, which led to vast radioactive leaks and consequences. The Fukushima disaster is one of the worst nuclear disasters to ever take place, comparable to Chernobyl. Some energy specialists believe that the detriments of nuclear energy far outweigh the benefits due to the consequences it has caused in history and what it will cause in the future because of the many risks; not only does the production of nuclear energy require large financial contributions, it also poses risks to human health because of radioactivity, and this has been proven through historic disasters: Fukushima and Chernobyl.
Money is taken from taxpayers and placed into the complex systems and the construction and operations of the power plant. On Finland’s attempt to start building a nuclear plant, Washington Post journalist Anne Applebaum stated, “But it was also meant to cost $4 billion and to be completed in 2009. Instead, after numerous setbacks, it is still unfinished–and may now cost $6 billion or more” (1468). There are many risks and investments that need to be placed in order to build a power plant with so many negative consequences. With Fukushima, not only was money used for the production of the power plant, but due to the disaster, it was also used to clean up and fix the damages from the accident and people had to be paid compensation for the after effects. According to World-nuclear.org, a website dedicated to nuclear energy, about 84,000 people received at least $1,000 per month for psychological suffering compensation, along with other costs for lost homes and wages. The Japanese government had to pay about $30 billion (“Fukushima Accident…”). Not only did human health pay the cost of this incident, but also a large amount of
Furthermore, due to these failures, radiation leaks occurred and mass evacuations had to take place in order to protect people’s safety. However, with Chernobyl, an incident that occurred without natural disaster, radiation spread across miles and into neighboring countries. The area surrounding the power plant was, according to Robinson, “… even after 25 years, a 20-mile radius around the ruined plant remains off-limits and uninhabitable” (1464). The effects from Chernobyl were extremely detrimental, bringing about thyroid cancer and even more negative health outcomes to develop.
With the implementation of nuclear energy, a large monetary budget needs to provided, and the long list of risks have to be contemplated, with past disasters taken into consideration. Fiscal assistance for power plant constructions and maintenance will be necessary, and radioactive waste and radiation will take place if proper care is not employed. But most importantly, disasters will become historical names if equipment fails. In 1986 Chernobyl occurred, and in 2011 Fukushima occurred. Some experts fear that if nuclear energy continues, a far worse incident will take