You may be surprised to learn that no one has died from radiation at the Fukushima nuclear power plant. And that must be killing anti-nuclear activists, because nothing would do more for their cause than nuclear radiation raining death down on thousands.
The Australian, one of the largest newspapers down under, has the unexpected story:
Amazingly, despite the devastation of the site, there have been no radiation-related deaths at Fukushima so far, and only two workers have been hospitalised as a precaution.
The only people to have perished at Fukushima were a man who became trapped in the console of a crane during the earthquake and two who were swept away by the tsunami. The entire toll from the earthquake, remember, is estimated at about 25,000.
While it is not yet over, and radioactivity continues to come out of the devastated plant, the good news is that there are still precisely zero deaths attributable to the release of radiation at the plant, and on the basis of doses received, zero are expected.
No effects on health or significant contamination cases have been identified among the general public evacuated from the area, despite the fact the accident has devastated the plant, and involved fires, explosions, and releases of radioactivity. If there is a single lesson from Chernobyl for the Japanese, it’s that in the years to come misinformation is likely to be more dangerous than radiation.
So just as more people died in Teddy Kennedy’s car than at Three Mile Island, more people died in a crane at Fukushima than died of radiation.
Source: The Australian
This post was last modified on September 8, 2021
View Comments (10)
Millions are dead, they just don't know it yet.
One worker at Fuku has already died of Leukemia.
Nuclear power and the people that support it are both exceptionally stupid.
TAO: "Nuclear power and the people that support it are both exceptionally stupid."
Blanket statements and the people who make them are both.... Oh, never mind.
Tell that to France and our nuclear fleet, both of which have been operating for quite some time w/o any major problems.
France! Who would have believed it.
It appears Tao is exceptionally stupid and would prefer to live in a mud hut, eat poo and die of some hideous illness that radiation can cure....funny how this story brought out some new trolls who must be the anti nuclear crowd that just waits to pounce on any story they disagree with. They will never admit to the upside of nuclear power that you mentioned...they are a closed minded group of self important liberals who hate anything that can not shut down when they deem it a threat. These folks will be over at the sugar thread next to say that sugar and people who support it are exceptionally stupid, Liberal blanket statements for every cause.
radiation causes cancer... cancer takes longer than a month, to develop.
As good as this article makes me feel about my danger level here in CA, it is pointless to discuss deaths related to Fukishima for another ten years, and then it will be more valuable still, to study the health development of children born at this time in and around the plant.
i don't feel particularly strongly about nuclear power and think that it is a viable option in many cases, but this article completely ignores this notion, leading one to believe that if radiation exposure doesn't immediately make you drop dead, theres nothing to worry about. Yes, misinformation will most likely be the biggest danger.
The problem is that if there a clear number of attributable deaths it is so small that no one is able to see it in the midst of all the myriad effects that also change cancer statistics. Green activists always play up the "nothing has been proven YET" angle but you can make that argument about anything, from whole wheat toast to cell phone emissions. Once you descend into the world of difficult to prove statistical phenomenon the debate is no longer in a context that the general public understands. Very few things make me more frustrated than deliberate sophistry from non-scientist environmental activists. As a student researcher in physics I see no difference between them and the people who underplay nuclear power dangers. Everyone is more interested in their cause than in actually find realistic answer to important questions.
Radiation CURES cancer in millions of patients every year. The exposure that patients receive is often very very high in order to KILL the cancer in people's bodies. The incidence of secondary cancer caused by routine radiation cancer therapy is extremely low.
The plain fact is that ionizing radiation is a weak carcinogen. The toxic chemicals released by the oil refinery fire sparked by the earthquake (google "Japan Earthquake Refinery Fire") will cause orders of magnitude more long term damage to human life than the radiation released at Fukushima. The toxins released in the fire cause cancer and birth defects much worse than ionizing radiation does.
If you don't believe me look up the long term studies on the survivors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
I agree that misinformation is the enemy.
Unfortunately, it won't keep the Greeners from stopping nuclear power for another generation.
They are the 21st century version of Flat Earthers.
with tens of thousands of people missing over there and the over-the-top lies and half-truths that are spewed out of there faster than the cores can melt, you think they are really going to tell the truth about exposure deaths?
I will give 10 to 1 odds that every single person that has died or is going to die will be listed "officially" as MIA or KIA by tsunami.
Aw c'mon. You know as well as I do the whole tsunami was faked, shot on a backlot in Hollywood.