Earthquakes accompanied by tsunamis that occurred in Japan raises the potential for new hazards. Therefore, some nuclear power plants (NPP) in Japan were damaged. The threat of radioactive contamination hazards to surface eventually. Is a kind of radioactive substance that is on the surface or in a solid, liquid or gas which is harmful to human body presence. Radioactive comes from radionuclides (radioisotopes), an unstable nucleus due to excessive energy.
According atomicarchive.com site, there are at least seven harmful effects human body when exposed to radioactive leaks from nuclear power plants:-
1. Hair: Hair will disappear quickly when exposed to radiation at 200 Rems or more. (Rems is a unit of radioactive strength.)
2. Brain: brain cells will not be damaged directly unless exposed to radiation measuring Rems 5000 or more. Like the heart, radiation kills nerve cells and blood vessels and can cause seizures and sudden death.
3. Mumps glands: the thyroid gland is very susceptible to radioactive iodine. In certain amount, radioactive iodine can destroy part or all of the thyroid.
4. Circulatory system: when a person is exposed to radiation of about 100 Rems, blood lymphocyte count would be reduced, so that victims are more susceptible to infection. The initial symptoms are flu-like illness. According to the data when Nagasaki and Hiroshima explosions, showed symptoms can last for 10 years and may have long-term risks such as leukemia and lymphoma.
5. Heart: when exposed to radiation measuring Rems 1000 to 5000 will result in direct damage to blood vessels and can lead to heart failure and sudden death.
6. Gastrointestinal: radiation with a strength of 200 Rems will cause damage to the lining of the intestinal tract and can cause nausea, vomiting and bloody diarrhea.
7. Channels Reproduction: the reproductive tract will damage the reproductive tract with enough power under 200 Rems. In the long term, radiation victims will experience infertility.
Seeing the danger of radioactive radiation impact of this, the Japanese government immediately set a high alert following a potential radioactive leaks at five nuclear reactors at two locations. Three thousand residents who live around the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear reactor with a radius of 10 km immediately evacuated. As many as 14,000 people living in the northeastern part of Japan are still on site and Daiichi, helped also evacuated after receiving a warning from the Tokyo Electric Power Co.. Japan has 54 reactors and 10 of them have been closed related to the earthquake and tsunami disaster that struck the region. About 30 percent of Japan's electricity supply comes from nuclear power.
Three explosions reactor coupled with a cooling system malfunction caused the emergence of high-level nuclear radiation leaks at nuclear power plant (NPP) Fukushima. Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan, as reported by the Associated Press, Tuesday, March 14, 2011, said that radioactive substances had leaked out of four nuclear reactors at the plant Dai-ichi in Fukushima Prefecture.
"The level of radiation is very high, and the possibility of radiation with a greater degree will still be seeping out," Kan said.
Kan said that this is the biggest nuclear disaster ever faced by Japan since the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in World War II. He called on citizens who live within a radius of 30 kilometers from the Fukushima Dai-ichi to stay indoors to avoid exposure to radiation.
Recent developments in the Fukushima nuclear power plant, 50 officers of the security of Japan has managed to extinguish the fire on the fourth reactor unit at the installation. A total of 800 workers have been evacuated to safety.
Previously, since Monday, the fourth nuclear reactor severe burns. Cabinet Secretary said Yukio Edano although the fourth reactor was not operating, but the radioactive substance in it still has the potential to leak. Yukio also called on residents to remain indoors. "Please do not go out of the house. Stay on the inside. Please close the window and close all vents. clothes inside. No doubt, radiation now potentially damaging human health," he said.
Edano said the radiation level around one of the leaking reactor reached 400 thousand mikrosiverts per hour. It's four times the safe limit of radiation for the human body. There are at least seven harmful effects human body when exposed to radioactive leaks. Disease that can be generated include: hair loss, nerve cell death, seizures and sudden death, disruption of blood circulation, heart disease, to damage the reproductive system.
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