The recent 8.9 earthquake on the northeastern edge of Honshu island, Japan, was the catalyst for a nuclear disaster. The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant has suffered an explosion, and is now leaking radiation. Several reactors are in danger, according to the Washington Post. How will residents be affected by this radiation? Could the fallout reach the United States? It all depends on what happens from here.
Radiation's effect on residents
Distance from the radiation leak and the duration of exposure can make the difference between life and death. The closer you are to the source of radiation, and the longer that you suffer exposure, the worse your symptoms will be. Early symptoms may include headache, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting and fever. Later symptoms may emerge after a week or more has passed, incuding dizziness, weakness, fatigue, hair loss, bloody vomit and stool, and persistent failure to heal from injury. In extremely severe cases, a victim of radiation exposure may experience all of these symptoms immediately.
Will the Japan nuclear disaster affect the U.S.?
According to a 2002 study, a major nuclear disaster has the capacity to affect people within a 500 mile radius. Since there are some 5000 miles between Japan and the western United States, the chances are slim that U.S. residents will be affected by the disaster in Japan.
Sources:
Mayo Clinic. Radiation Sickness. Accessed March 12, 2011
Mufson, S. Explosion rocks Japanese nuclear power plant; 5 reactors in peril. Washington Post. March 12, 2011
Witherspoon, R. Study warns of 500 Mile Radiation Spread. USA Today November 11, 2002
Comments