Lesser of Two Toxins?

     Since the quake on March 11 that turned Japan's Fukashima Daiichi nuclear plant into a national hazard, Japanese officials and Tokyo Electric have had their hands forced by the potential of a full nuclear meltdown that could rival that of the Chernobyl disaster in 1986.

     The chain of bad luck started when the backup generators were washed away by the tsunami which left the reactors without a cooling system to hydrate the fuel cores to prevent them from catching fire and melting down. Tokyo electric was then forced to utilize fire fighting equipment to combat the problem, pumping tons of ocean water per hour onto the fuel rods to keep them from releasing radioactive elements into the atmosphere.

     However, they're now stuck with the dubious task of disposing of the accumulated water that wasn't vaporized by the heat of fuel rods. Tanks used to collect accumulated radioactive water have reached their capacity so now contaminated water is being released into the ocean to make way for water with higher levels of radiation. The water being released, according to Tokyo Electric, contains levels of radiation 100 times the legal limit, where as the water that is taking its place in storage containers is 10,000 times the legal limit.

“Unfortunately, the water contains a certain amount of radiation,” Mr. Edano said. “This is an unavoidable measure to prevent even higher amounts of radiation from reaching the sea.”-Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano

 

         Iodine-131 and other radioactive elements being spewed in to the ocean by the ton have half lives that are relatively short (Iodine-131 has a half life of 8 days), however, more dangerous elements like Cesium137 has a half life of 30 years. This will pose long term problems to the sealife and economy of Japan as these elements saturate the water and start to collect in sea life. 

      To add to the woes of past few weeks, the Japanese have also started to pump nitrogen into the damaged reactors to combat the build up of hydrogen, the byproduct of spraying the fuel rods with ocean water. The nitrogen is said to be neutralizing the hydrogen and should prevent another explosion like the ones that compromised the containment structures in late March. However, this action will also release more radioactive gas into the atmosphere as the nitrogen and hydrogen interact. 

     Is there a way to remedy the catastrophe in Japan without releasing some form of radioactivity? It appears to be the case that in order to prevent the worst case scenario the world might have to live with a little more radiation in the food chain. In what is estimated to take several more weeks to months to gain containment on, the situation in Japan is ruffling the feathers of diplomats across the globe in the debate over whether nuclear power is a viable option for the future. Tokyo Electric might say why not sacrifice a little to gain a lot in the long run?