[At-Large] Fukushima : What Went Wrong- a beginners guide

[vivek anannd]

Subject: Fukushima : What Went Wrong
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Has there been a leakage of radioactive material?
Yes. Local government officials in Fukushima say 190 people have been exposed to 
some radiation. An American warship, the USS Ronald Reagan, has detected low 
levels of radiation at a distance of 100 miles (161km) from the Fukushima plant. 

How much radioactive material has escaped?
The Japanese authorities say only low levels of radiation have been detected 
outside the plant. The International Atomic Energy Agency has described it as a 
level four event on the International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale 
(INES), which is used for an accident "with local consequences". No abnormal 
levels of radiation have been detected in Russia.
What type of radioactive material has escaped?
There are reports of radioactive isotopes of caesium and iodine in the vicinity 
of the plant. Experts say it would be natural for radioactive isotopes of 
nitrogen and argon to have escaped as well. There is no evidence that any 
uranium or plutonium has escaped.
What harm do these radioactive materials cause?
Radioactive iodine could be harmful to young people living near the plant. After 
the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster there were some cases of thyroid cancer as a 
result. However, people who were promptly issued with iodine tablets ought to be 
safe. Radioactive caesium accumulates in soft tissue, while plutonium 
accumulates in the bone and liver. Radioactive nitrogen decays within seconds of 
its release, and argon poses no threat to health.
How did the radioactive materials escape?
There have been problems with cooling systems, causing the reactors to overheat. 
Production of steam has caused pressure to build up inside the reactor, so small 
amounts of steam have been deliberately released. On Tuesday another reactor 
exploded, possibly causing a crack in its suppression chamber. This would allow 
steam to escape continuously, but the situation is unclear. Experts say that the 
presence in the steam of caesium and iodine - which are among the by-products of 
nuclear fission - suggests that the metal casing of some of the fuel rods has 
melted or broken. But the uranium fuel itself has a very high melting point so 
it is less likely to have melted, let alone vapourised.
Could radioactive materials have escaped by any other means?
The authorities have pumped sea water into three reactors. This water will be 
contaminated by its passage through the reactor, but it is currently unclear 
whether any of it has been released into the environment.
How long will any contamination last?
Radioactive iodine decays quite quickly. Most will have disappeared within a 
month. Radioactive caesium does not last long in the body - most has gone within 
a year. However, it lingers in the environment and can continue to present a 
problem for many years.
Has there been a meltdown?
The term "meltdown" is used in a variety of ways. As noted above, the reported 
detection of radioactive caesium and iodine may indicate that some of the metal 
casing enclosing the reactors' uranium fuel has melted (a "fuel-rod meltdown"). 
However, there is as yet no indication that the uranium fuel itself has melted. 
Still less is there any indication of a "China Syndrome" where the fuel melts, 
gathers below the reactor and resumes a chain reaction, that enables it to melt 
everything in its way, and bore a path deep into the earth. If there were to be 
a serious meltdown, the Japanese reactor is supposed to be able to handle it, 
preventing the China Syndrome from taking place. Reports suggest that underneath 
the reactor, within the outer containment vessel, there is a concrete basin 
designed to capture and disperse any molten fuel.
Could there be a Chernobyl-like disaster?
Experts say this is highly unlikely. The chain reaction at all Fukushima 
reactors has ceased. The explosions that have occurred have taken place outside 
the steel and concrete containment vessels enclosing the reactors. At Chernobyl 
an explosion exposed the core of the reactor to the air, and a fire raged for 
days sending its contents in a plume up into the atmosphere. At Fukushima the 
explosions - caused by hydrogen and oxygen vented from the reactor - have 
damaged only the roof and walls erected around the containment vessels.
Could there be a nuclear explosion?
No. A nuclear bomb and a nuclear reactor are different things.
What caused the hydrogen release from the reactor?
At high temperatures, steam can separate into hydrogen and oxygen in the 
presence of zirconium, the metal used for encasing the reactor fuel. This 
mixture is highly explosive.
How do iodine tablets work?
If the body has all the iodine it needs, it will not absorb further iodine from 
the atmosphere. The tablets fill the body up with non-radioactive iodine, which 
prevent it absorbing the radioactive iodine.
What kind of radiation levels have been recorded at Fukushima?
The Kyodo news agency reports that a radiation level of 1,557 microsieverts per 
hour was registered on Sunday. At this level, one hour's exposure is roughly 
equivalent to one chest X-ray. Later measurements included 750 microsieverts per 
hour at 0200 on Monday, and 20 microsieverts per hour at 1145. On a long-haul 
flight, passengers are exposed to about five microsieverts per hour. However, 
after Tuesday's explosion, readings at the site rose again beyone safe limits - 
400 millisieverts per hour and people living within 20 miles (32km) of the plant 
were told to stay indoors. Moving away from the source of radiation, 
measurements quickly tail off, and in Tokyo they were reported to have been 
higher than normal, but officials said there were no health dangers. 

Is any level of exposure to radiation safe?
In some parts of the world, natural background radiation is significantly higher 
than others - for example in Cornwall, in south-west England. And yet people 
live in Cornwall, and many others gladly visit the area. Similarly, every 
international air flight exposes passengers to higher than normal levels of 
radiation - and yet people still fly, and cabin crews spend large amounts of 
time exposed to this radiation. Patients in hospitals regularly undergo X-rays. 
Scientists dispute whether any level of exposure to radiation is entirely safe, 
but exposure to some level of radiation - whether at normal background levels or 
higher - is a fact of life. 

How do Fukushima's problems affect the rest of the world?
It depends on how much radiation is released. At present, the IAEA says the 
effects are of a "local" nature.
 
Health effects of radiation
 
What are the immediate health effects of exposure to radiation?
Exposure to moderate levels of radiation - above one gray - can result in 
radiation sickness, which produces a range of symptoms.
Nausea and vomiting often begin within hours of exposure, followed by diarrhoea, 
headaches and fever.
After the first round of symptoms, there may be a brief period with no apparent 
illness, but this may be followed within weeks by new, more serious symptoms.
At higher levels of radiation, all of these symptoms may be immediately 
apparent, along with widespread - and potentially fatal - damage to internal 
organs. 

Exposure to a radiation dose of four gray will typically kill about half of all 
healthy adults. 

For comparison, radiation therapy for cancer typically involves several doses of 
between one and seven gray at a time - but these doses are highly controlled, 
and usually specifically targeted at small areas of the body.
 
Radiation dose  Effect  
2 mSv/yr (millisieverts per year) Typical background radiation experienced by 
everyone (average 1.5 mSv in Australia, 3 mSv in North America) 

9 mSv/yr Exposure by airline crew flying New York-Tokyo polar route 
20 mSv/yr Current limit (averaged) for nuclear industry employees 
50 mSv/yr Former routine limit for nuclear industry employees. It is also the 
dose rate which arises from natural background levels in several places in Iran, 
India and Europe 

100 mSv/yr Lowest level at which any increase in cancer is clearly evident.  
350 mSv/lifetime Criterion for relocating people after Chernobyl accident 
1,000 mSv single dose Causes (temporary) radiation sickness such as nausea and 
decreased white blood cell count, but not death. Above this, severity of illness 
increases with dose 

5,000 mSv single dose Would kill about half those receiving it within a month 
How is radiation sickness treated?
The first thing to do is to try to minimise further contamination by removing 
clothes and shoes, and gently washing the skin with soap and water.
Drugs are available that increase white blood-cell production to counter any 
damage that may have occurred to the bone marrow, and to reduce the risk of 
further infections due to immune-system damage.
There are also specific drugs that can help to reduce the damage to internal 
organs caused by radioactive particles.
How does radiation have an impact on health?
Radioactive materials that decay spontaneously produce ionising radiation, which 
has the capacity to cause significant damage to the body's internal chemistry, 
breaking the chemical bonds between the atoms and molecules that make up our 
tissues.
The body responds by trying to repair this damage, but sometimes it is too 
severe or widespread to make repair possible. There is also a danger of mistakes 
in the natural repair process.
Regions of the body that are most vulnerable to radiation damage include the 
cells lining the intestine and stomach, and the blood-cell producing cells in 
the bone marrow.
The extent of the damage caused is dependent on how long people are exposed to 
radiation, and at what level.
Radiation and cancer
·         Most experts agree even small doses of ionising radiation - as low as 
100 millisieverts - can increase the risk of cancer, but by a very small amount.
·         In general, the risk of cancer increases as the dose of radiation 
increases. Exposure to one sievert of radiation is estimated to increase the 
lifetime risk of fatal cancer by around 5%.
·         The thyroid gland and bone marrow are particularly sensitive to 
ionising radiation.
·         Leukemia, a type of cancer that arises in the bone marrow, is the most 
common radiation-induced cancer. Leukemias may appear as early as a few years 
after radiation exposure.
·         Other cancer can also result from exposure to radiation, but may not 
develop for at least a decade. These include cancers of the lung, skin, thyroid, 
breast and stomach.
What are the most likely long-term health effects?
Cancer is the biggest long-term risk. Usually when the body's cells reach their 
"sell-by date" they commit suicide. Cancer results when cells lose this ability, 
and effectively become immortal, continuing to divide and divide in an 
uncontrolled fashion. 

The body has various processes for ensuring that cells do not become cancerous, 
and for replacing damaged tissue.
But the damage caused by exposure to radiation can completely disrupt these 
control processes, making it much more likely that cancer will result.
Failure to properly repair the damage caused by radiation can also result in 
changes - or mutations - to the body's genetic material, which are not only 
associated with cancer, but may also be potentially passed down to offspring, 
leading to deformities in future generations. These can include smaller head or 
brain size, poorly formed eyes, slow growth and severe learning difficulties.
Are children at greater risk?
Potentially yes. Because they are growing more rapidly, more cells are dividing, 
and so the potential for things to go wrong is greater.
Following the Chernobyl nuclear reactor accident in the Ukraine in 1986, the 
World Health Organization recorded a dramatic increase in thyroid cancer among 
children in the vicinity. 

This was because the radioactive materials released during the accident 
contained high levels of radioactive iodine, a material that accumulates in the 
thyroid.
What risk does Fukushima pose currently?
The Japanese authorities have recorded a radiation level of up 400 millisieverts 
per hour at the nuclear plant itself.
A sievert is essentially equivalent to a gray, but tends to be used to measure 
lower levels of radiation, and for assessing long-term risk, rather than the 
short-term acute impact of exposure.
Professor Richard Wakeford, an expert in radiation exposure at the University of 
Manchester, said exposure to a dose of 400 millisieverts was unlikely to cause 
radiation sickness - that would require a dose of around twice that level (one 
sievert/one gray).
However, it could start to depress the production of blood cells in the bone 
marrow, and was likely to raise the lifetime risk of fatal cancer by 2-4%. 
Typically, a Japanese person has a lifetime risk of fatal cancer of 20-25%.
Prof Wakeford stressed only emergency workers at the plant were at risk of 
exposure to such a dose - but it was likely that they would only be exposed for 
short periods of time to minimise their risk.
The level of exposure for the general population, even those living close to the 
plant, was unlikely to be anywhere near as high.
How can the Japanese authorities minimise the cost to human health? 
Prof Wakeford said that provided the Japanese authorities acted quickly, most of 
the general population should be spared significant health problems. 

He said in those circumstances the only people likely to be at risk of serious 
health effects were nuclear workers at the plant or emergency workers exposed to 
high levels of radiation. 

He said the top priority would be to evacuate people from the area and to make 
sure they did not eat contaminated food. The biggest risk was that radioactive 
iodine could get into their system, raising the risk of thyroid cancer. 

To counter that risk, people - in particular children - could be given tablets 
containing stable iodine which would prevent the body absorbing the radioactive 
version. 

The Japanese already have a lot of iodine in their natural diet, so that should 
help too.
How does Fukushima compare to Chernobyl?
Professor Gerry Thomas, who has studied the aftermath of the Chernobyl disaster, 
said: "It is very unlikely that this will turn into anything that resembles 
Chernobyl.
"In Chernobyl you had a steam explosion which exposed the reactor core, which 
meant you had a lot of radiation shooting up into the atmosphere."
Prof Thomas said although the Chernobyl disaster had led to a rise in thyroid 
cancer cases, the only people affected were those living in the immediate area 
of the explosion and who were young at the time.