The Fukushima Exclusion Zone

The Japanese have established a 12.5 mile radius exclusion zone around the Fukushima reactors. People that live near that zone are anxious about the dangers of radiation as well and who wouldn't be. Within that population people with small children are hard pressed with concerns about health being compromised by radiation.

As much as I am opposed to nuclear power, I believe that nuclear reactors will continue to be viewed as a viable energy source. Recent articles lead me in the direction of a newer variety of reactors intended to reduce safety issue fears.

Meanwhile the present crop of reactors are literally potential time bombs. In the USA we like to build our reactors very close to major populated centers. The warnings are out, officials know what is at stake, yet the word is silent on solutions and alternatives. Recent studies have revealed a list of ongoing safety issues along with inconsistent standards in safety at these reactors. We hate to say it but its just a matter of time when we are facing another crisis. Its hard to imagine any other scenario. There are two reactor exclusion zones that I am aware of, Fukushima and Chernobyl along with areas contaminated with nuclear waste. That list seems destined to grow. Its Russian roulette.

CS Monitor: Beyond Japan's Fukushima exclusion zone, shuttered shops speak to radiation doubts

Mr. Monakata is one of the very few people still living in the bucolic countryside just outside the 12.5-mile radius exclusion zone surrounding the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, where three reactors exploded after the March 11 earthquake and subsequent tsunami.


In the small city of Date, 35 miles from the plant, the anxiety is palpable – especially among parents of young children.


...the city will issue individual radiation detectors to all school-age children...


Safety inspectors have rejected 266 of 2,000 food samples they have tested since March.