They also measured cesium and other radionuclides in plankton and fish and, in subsequent cruises, collected sediments from the seafloor near the plant. The levels of cesium had diminished quickly off shore because cesium is soluble in seawater and was therefore diluted by the Pacific ocean currents. The scientists found elevated levels of the nuclear by-product cesium but they were below the threshold of concern for direct human exposure. Within months of the accident, Ken Buesseler, a senior scientist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), assembled a research cruise and science party of 17 people from eight institutions to sample the waters surrounding the nuclear plant. Additional airborne radioactive material from the explosions and fires at the plant fell onto the sea surface, where it too mixed into the water, as did subsequent leaks from tanks on the site holding treated water.
Because of the plant’s location along the coast, much of the water washed into the Pacific, resulting in the largest accidental release of radiation to the ocean in history. The waves, some of which measured more than 40 feet, also struck the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant 150 miles north of Tokyo, disabling the plant’s emergency systems and causing emergency crews to use seawater to cool the damaged reactors. The disaster left dozens of villages along nearly 200 miles of coast heavily damaged or completely destroyed.
FUKUFHIMA REACTOR MELTDOWN SERIES
On March 11, 2011, a 9.0 magnitude earthquake 80 miles off the Northeast Coast of Japan triggered a series of tsunamis that struck nearby shorelines with only a few minutes’ warning. Scientists continue to study the effects of radioactive contaminants on the marine environment following the earthquake, tsunamis, and resulting radiation leads from the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant in Japan.
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