Even After Level 7 Rating, Fukushima Is Not Another Chernobyl
The international media is having a field day. Now that Japan has decided to increase the crisis level at Fukushima from level 5 to level 7, a great many headlines have been proclaiming that Fukushima is now a “Chernobyl level” nuclear disaster.
Such headlines represent a crude and misleading presentation of the International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale (INES). When an accident is deemed to be at level 7, it means that experts have determined that there was a “major” radiation release. It does not mean that all level 7 accidents are “equal to” or “the same as” other level 7 accidents. Referring to the accident as “Chernobyl level” may help sell newspapers, but it doesn’t help anyone understand the situation.
Before believing the hype about there being a new Chernobyl upon us, please read some of the following articles, which contain comparisons Fukushima Daiichi accident and Chernobyl:
- Fukushima: openness can be the only policy (The Independent) – “More than that, the situation in Japan is not worsening. The amount of emitted radiation is falling. Fukushima would only be worse than Chernobyl if 100 per cent of its radioactive material escaped. But the opposite is happening; the 10,000 terabecquerels of radiation per hour being spewed into the environment in the first hours of the accident have dropped to less than 1 terabecquerel per hour.”
- How Fukushima is and isn’t like Chernobyl (Nature.com) – “Understandably, the press has made quite a big deal out of new rating, but the reality is that Fukushima is a very different accident than Chernobyl.”
- Fukushima, Chernobyl ‘not comparable’: Watchdog (AFP) – “The accident at Fukushima has released ‘significant’ amounts of radiation but at levels and with an impact that are ‘not comparable’ to Chernobyl, France’s nuclear safety agency said on Tuesday.”
- Why Fukushima isn’t Chernobyl, despite rise in crisis level (Christian Science Monitor) – Yoshiaki Oka, a professor of nuclear engineering at Tokyo’s Waseda University, who believes even NISA’s figure is an overestimation….he believes the idea that Fukushima is as bad as the world’s worst nuclear disaster is “completely wrong” and that according to his estimates the leak of radiation, so far, from the Japanese plant is about “1/100th of that of Chernobyl.”
- Fukushima is no Chernobyl: Russian nuclear expert (Euronews) – “To begin with the threat was was obviously underestimated and now it’s obviously exaggerated. What we can see looks maybe like a level 6 on the INES scale….It’s dangerous in any case – but there’s no need to frighten the population.”
- Experts say Fukushima is no Chernobyl (Philippine Daily Inquirer) – “For all their criticism of how Tokyo Electric Power Co. and Japan’s government are handling the crisis at the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant, experts agree with them on one point: Fukushima is not another Chernobyl.”
The amount of radiation released by Fukushima has not even come close to the amount released by Chernobyl. The upgrade to level 7 was based on recent analysis of leaks that took place very early in the crisis. After the large leak on March 15-16, the rate of leakage has dropped. For Fukushima to equal Chernobyl in the amount of radiation released, the situation would have to take some sudden and tremendous turn for the worse. Although it will take a long time to resolve the current situation, there are few indications that it is becoming more serious.
The new analysis about the radiation leaks and the upgrade to level 7 have changed nothing about the safety outlook for people in the Kanto region. Previous radiation readings for food, water, and air in Tokyo remain valid. Local governments and anti-nuclear activists are closely monitoring radiation levels, and will continue to do so into the foreseeable future.
- Akihabara News – Gadgetry from Japan (Subscribe)
- Dannychoo.com – Your portal to Japan (Subscribe)
