Lessons from Fukushima

By Kim Jin-hyun

More than two and a half years have passed since the "meltdown" at Fukushima nuclear power plant but the exact extent of the damage remains uncertain. Worse, it has been left unrepaired.

Thus, experts and citizens worry about the catastrophic impacts on health and safety. But the Japanese government and Tokyo Electric Power, its management authority, haven't really expressed serious concern.

Kim Ik-joong, a biology professor from Dongguk University, said that radiation at Fukushima nuclear power plant was at least seven times as much as that at Chernobyl.

The Chernobyl disaster happened in 1986. After 23 years, experts reported a few studies on Chernobyl. "Chernobyl — catastrophic result on human beings and environments" by ecologist Alexey Yablocov, a former advisor for the environment to then Russian President Mikhail Gorbachev, said that it caused 985,000 deaths or injuries.

These included various types of cancers, gastric ulcers, chronic lung diseases, diabetes, eye infections, thyroid-related diseases and cardiovascular illnesses. In addition, the birthrate between boy and girl babies, which is usually 105:100, was 105:95 in Belarus and Russia which were exposed to radiation.

Experts said that the Chernobyl disaster polluted 40 percent of Europe and most of the northern hemisphere. Then, it makes me shudder to expect the damage from the Fukushima meltdown.

For example, Japan and the Pacific Ocean have been polluted by cesium 137 because of the disaster. Though the Korean Peninsula is not yet polluted, because it is almost at the center of the influence, radiation will inevitably spread over Korea.

The half-life of cesium 137 in radiation is 30 years. Some cesium will be accumulated on all living organisms and in the food chain. As a result, all animals living in the polluted areas will be exposed to various diseases.

The Japanese government and Tokyo Electric Power have concealed and downplayed the entire effects of Fukushima disaster because their system has been operated by secret under the motto "atomic power is always safe." In this regard, we should recall many experts had long warned that the Fukushima power plant could be exposed to danger such as natural disasters, but Tokyo Electric Power ignored their opinions.

Though the Korean government and Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co. (KHNP) knew of this information, they haven't cared to evaluate what it means for the Korean people. This year, during the season of high demand for electricity, atomic reactors in Gori and Wolseong in South and North Gyeongsang Province suddenly shut down with no plausible explanations.

Since the Fukushima disaster, 8,000 tons of fish caught near Fukushima waters were imported. Though citizens and the mass media reported the dangers of polluted fish, the government just tried to reduce the severity without investigating its origin, but merely prohibited importing fish from Japan.

This poor management of atomic energy not only by KHNP, but also by government agencies responsible for health and safety issues led to popular distruct of atomic energy. Even so, officials haven't suggested any viable alternatives yet.

To prevent a second Fukushima disaster, the government and KHNP should check all the power plants, show the results to citizens, and adopt a transparent management system. It is a must to ensure the safety of citizens.

The writer is an English teacher at Yeosu High School in South Jeolla Province. His email address is shinykim60@hanmail.net.

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