safe distance from nuclear power plant meltdown

#Safe distance from nuclear power plant meltdown full
#Safe distance from nuclear power plant meltdown plus

The trace levels are not harmful to health but have further raised public concerns over how far radioactive particles can travel from Fukushima. China's Health Ministry has found traces of radioactivity in spinach in three Chinese provinces and South Korean media have reported fears about contaminated rainfall.įarther away, India has banned all food imports from Japan for three months, and Russia has banned imports of Japanese fish.Īnd around the world, scientists have measured trace-level increases of radioactive iodine in the atmosphere. Neighboring South Korea and China say they are worried about radioactive fallout moving westward over their territories. They calculated that distance based on the possibility that the situation at the stricken nuclear power plant could suddenly worsen and more radiation might be released.īut if nobody seems to agree on how far the radiation threat extends around Fukushima itself, there are just as many opinions over how far the danger stretches beyond northeastern Japan.Ī worker wearing a protective suit walks near the damaged pit at the crippled Fukushima plant's No.

#Safe distance from nuclear power plant meltdown full

Meanwhile, the United States, Britain, and Canada have recommended that its nationals keep a full 80 kilometers away from Fukushima. It recommended that Japan extend the hazard zone but didn't say by how much. Last week, the IAEA found radiation exceeding its safety standards in a village 40 kilometers from Fukushima.

#Safe distance from nuclear power plant meltdown plus

The first 20 kilometers of that is a mandatory evacuation zone, the last 10 kilometers a voluntary one.īut the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), plus several other countries say that's too short a distance. Japan has set a distance of just 30 kilometers. Wind patterns WILL affect this however, and the method of fallout will also affect the spread pattern (explosion and altitude versus meltdown, etc.).Four weeks into Japan's nuclear crisis, nobody seems able to agree on how far the danger of radiation from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station extends.

I have chosen a 50-mile radius as a reasonable distance factor, given that generally speaking – any radioactive fallout will dissipate according to the inverse-square-law. RADEX RD1503+ High accuracy Geiger counter I have added a 50 mile radius (100 mile diameter) circle around each one. I have built the following map which indicates the location of all the operating nuclear power plants in the United States. How long can a nuclear power plant operate with their generators? Until they either run out of fuel or until they break down. While nuclear power plants do have backup diesel power generators, there are circumstances whereby these generators could be rendered useless. Without their cooling pumps, a nuclear meltdown will be assured. Nuclear power plants need electricity to keep their enormous water cooling pumps working. An enormous region of land surrounding that power plant became uninhabitable. IF we were to experience a disaster which brings down our electrical power grid, or even a region thereof ( ‘Carrington’ Event?), ( an EMP?), those who are living near a nuclear power plant will be at high risk due to the potential for nuclear meltdown.Īll you have to do is look back at what happened at Fukushima Japan following the earthquake, tsunami, and core meltdown. IMPORTANT: iOSAT Potassium Iodide Tablets, 130 mg (14 Tablets)

You better be at least 50 miles from a nuclear power plant, and preferably not in a downwind location based on the prevailing winds (which are typically and generally west to east across the U.S. What if there was a disaster leading to a nuclear meltdown? Have you wondered where the safest or safer place would be from a nuclear power plant?