First Beach Reopened After Fukushima Nuclear Accident
July 16, 2012 | Energy
A beach in Iwaki, in the province of Fukushima, won permission today for the summer bathing, thus becomes the first beach that opens its doors after the nuclear accident in 2011.
In Nokoso Beach, 65 kilometers south of the battered nuclear plant, three local tour guides inaugurated the reopening of the beach, on a day which coincides with the celebration of the holiday in Japan.
During the inauguration of the first open beach in Fukushima, there were musical performances and volleyball matches in the sand.
According to the city of Iwaki, the concentration of radiation in sea water is less than 1 becquerel per liter, while radiation in the air do not pose a risk to health, which has allowed swimming.
“The water is still cold, but I think it will be a good season. Many people want to come,” said one of the natives, Yukiei Hakozaki, 22.
The accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station was the worst since that of Chernobyl. It severely affected agriculture, livestock and local fisheries, as well as having forced the evacuation of about 80,000 people in an exclusion zone of 20 kilometers around the nuclear plant.
The plant operator of Tokyo Electric Power ( TEPCO ) has reported several times about the leak of radioactive water into the sea. The latest was in April, when there was a confirmation of a leak of 12 tons of liquid contaminated with radioactive strontium.
Since the beginning of the nuclear crisis and after the earthquake and tsunami of March, the authorities conduct tests to analyze the impact of the accident on marine life. As it is estimated that between March 21 and April 30 of last year, the plant could shed some 15,000 sea terabecquereles cesium and radioactive iodine.
