Disaster in Japan
Posted Mar 16, 2011 06:16:25 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Japanese military helicopters are dumping loads of seawater onto the stricken Fukushima nuclear complex.
They’re trying to cool dangerously overheated uranium fuel rods that may be on the verge of spewing more radiation into the atmosphere.
The extraordinary, combat-style tactic comes as plant operators say they’re racing to finish a new power line to restore cooling systems.
The nuclear crisis was set off when last week’s earthquake and tsunami knocked out power and destroyed backup generators needed for the reactors’ cooling systems.
Victims of last week’s earthquake and tsunami in northeastern Japan and aid workers are appealing for more help.
Police say more than 452,000 people are staying in schools and other shelters, as supplies of fuel, medicine and other necessities ran short.
More than 4,300 people are officially listed as dead, but officials believe the toll will climb to well over 10,000.
The governor of Fukushima prefecture, Yuhei Sato says the anxiety and anger felt by the people there has reached a boiling point.
He says evacuation preparations are inadequate, adding centres lacked enough hot meals and basic necessities.
Meantime, other countries say Japan has been too slow and vague in releasing details about its rapidly evolving crisis at the complex of six reactors along Japan’s northeastern coast.
A Canadian group that sends medical teams to disaster zones returned home yesterday from a short-lived trip to Japan.
They turned back in the face of the worsening crisis at a nuclear power plant damaged in last week’s deadly earthquake and tsunami.
The Ontario-based Canadian Medical Assistance Team sent six paramedics and a search-and-rescue expert to assess what’s needed and inform authorities in Japan what they could offer.
A spokeswoman, Valerie Rzepka says the team wasn’t equipped to deal with a nuclear emergency and they now plan to co-ordinate their potential response from Vancouver.
Ottawa is warning Canadians to stay well away from the site of a potential nuclear meltdown in northern Japan.
The Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant has been leaking radiation since it was damaged by last Friday’s quake and tsunami.
Ottawa says Canadians should consider leaving Tokyo and earthquake-affected areas, but so far Canada has said no evacuation of its citizens has been planned.
The U-S has started evacuating Americans out of Japan as it takes a tougher stand on the deepening nuclear crisis.
The U-S is also warning Americans to defer all non-essential travel to any part of the country as unpredictable weather and wind conditions risked spreading radioactive contamination.
Senior State Department official Patrick Kennedy says chartered planes will be brought in to help private American citizens wishing to leave.
He says people face less risk in southern Japan, but adds changing weather and wind conditions could raise radiation levels elsewhere in the coming days.
The decision to begin evacuations mirrors moves by countries such as Australia and Germany.
Greenpeace has joined Ontario nurses to make an “urgent appeal” to the province to indefinitely delay public hearings on building new nuclear reactors.
Greenpeace analyst Shawn-Patrick Stensil says fears of a nuclear meltdown in Japan should be enough for Ontario to reconsider the safety of nuclear power.
Doris Grinspun of the Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario is urging the governing Liberals and the Opposition for “sober second thought” on their nuclear energy plans.
Grinspun cites health risks, high costs and the availability of safer alternative energy sources.
But the Ontario government shows no signs of slowing down its plans to build two new units at Darlington nuclear station.
And the Progressive Conservatives say that, if elected, they will go ahead with plans to expand nuclear energy.
Japan’s central bank sprayed more cash over jittery money markets today as the yen shot to a record high.
The Bank of Japan injected an additional $76.7-billion dollars into the markets to allow banks to access cash immediately.
This is the fourth straight day the central bank has injected funds into the money markets for a total of $765-billion dollars.
By flooding the system with money, it’s hoped banks will continue lending and meet the expected surge in the demand for post-disaster funds.
Japan’s auto industry remained largely hobbled, nearly a week after the country’s worst-ever earthquake laid waste to its industrial northeast.
Toyota Motor Corporation, the world’s top automaker, will start up parts plants today.
But Toyota’s assembly plants throughout Japan are closed through next Tuesday, affecting the production of 95,000 vehicles.
The company says it hasn’t decided when full production will resume.
Northeastern Japan is a major centre for auto production, with a myriad of parts suppliers and a network of roads and ports for speedy distribution.
The northeast is also home to steel plants, oil refineries, nuclear power plants and factories making parts for electronics.
Roads and other transport networks are crippled, while power supplies are constrained amid an unfolding crisis at the Fukushima nuclear power plant.
Japanese automakers don’t anticipate any Canadian layoffs despite production cuts at some Ontario plants in the wake of last Friday’s killer earthquake and tsunami in Japan.
Toyota has suspended one hour of daily overtime at its North American plants to conserve parts and to confirm the status of its supply chain.
Toyota official Pat Clement says it has been difficult to communicate with head office in Japan where phone lines are questionable.
Plants in Japan are closed in order to focus on distributing relief supplies in disaster-ravaged country.
Honda Canada says most of its company’s cars and parts sold in North America are made on the continent, so it anticipates the crisis in Japan will not lead to production cuts in Canada.
