mutations dna damage seen in fukushima forests
Last Updated : GMT 05:17:37
Emiratesvoice, emirates voice
Emiratesvoice, emirates voice
Last Updated : GMT 05:17:37
Emiratesvoice, emirates voice

Mutations, DNA damage seen in Fukushima forests

Emiratesvoice, emirates voice

Emiratesvoice, emirates voice Mutations, DNA damage seen in Fukushima forests

A TEPCO employee measures the radiation in front of the No. 2 and No.3
Tokyo - AFP

 Conservation group Greenpeace warned on Friday that the environmental impact of the Fukushima nuclear crisis five years ago on nearby forests is just beginning to be seen and will remain a source of contamination for years to come.

The March 11, 2011 magnitude 9.0 undersea earthquake off Japan's northeastern coast sparked a massive tsunami that swamped cooling systems and triggered reactor meltdowns at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.

Radiation spread over a wide area and forced tens of thousands of people from their homes -- many of whom will likely never return -- in the worst nuclear accident since Chernobyl in 1986.

As the fifth anniversary of the disaster approaches, Greenpeace said signs of mutations in trees and DNA-damaged worms were beginning to appear, while "vast stocks of radiation" mean that forests cannot be decontaminated.

In a report, Greenpeace cited "apparent increases in growth mutations of fir trees... heritable mutations in pale blue grass butterfly populations" as well as "DNA-damaged worms in highly contaminated areas", it said.

The report came as the government intends to lift many evacuation orders in villages around the Fukushima plant by March 2017, if its massive decontamination effort progresses as it hopes.
For now, only residential areas are being cleaned in the short-term, and the worst-hit parts of the countryside are being omitted, a recommendation made by the International Atomic Energy Agency.

But such selective efforts will confine returnees to a relatively small area of their old hometowns, while the strategy could lead to re-contamination as woodlands will act as a radiation reservoir, with pollutants washed out by rains, Greenpeace warned.

The conservation group said its report relies largely on research published in peer-reviewed international journals.

But "most of the findings in it have never been covered outside of the close circles of academia", report author Kendra Ulrich told AFP.

The Japanese government's push to resettle contaminated areas and also restart nuclear reactors in Japan that had been shut down in the aftermath of the crisis are a cause for concern, Ulrich said, stressing it and the IAEA are using the opportunity of the anniversary to play down radiation impacts.

"In the interest of human rights -- especially for victims of the disaster -- it is ever more urgent to ensure accurate and complete information is publicly available and the misleading rhetoric of these entities challenged," she said.

Scientists, including a researcher who found mutations of Fukushima butterflies, have warned, however, that more data are needed to determine the ultimate impact of the Fukushima accident on animals in general.

Researchers and medical doctors have so far denied that the accident at Fukushima would cause an elevated incidence of cancer or leukaemia, diseases that are often associated with radiation exposure.

But they also noted that long-term medical examination is needed especially due to concerns over thyroid cancer among young people -- a particular problem for people following the Chernobyl catastrophe.

 

Name *

E-mail *

Comment Title*

Comment *

: Characters Left

Mandatory *

Terms of use

Publishing Terms: Not to offend the author, or to persons or sanctities or attacking religions or divine self. And stay away from sectarian and racial incitement and insults.

I agree with the Terms of Use

Security Code*

mutations dna damage seen in fukushima forests mutations dna damage seen in fukushima forests

 



Name *

E-mail *

Comment Title*

Comment *

: Characters Left

Mandatory *

Terms of use

Publishing Terms: Not to offend the author, or to persons or sanctities or attacking religions or divine self. And stay away from sectarian and racial incitement and insults.

I agree with the Terms of Use

Security Code*

mutations dna damage seen in fukushima forests mutations dna damage seen in fukushima forests

 



GMT 11:30 2012 Monday ,09 January

Mutah University workers demand pay raise

GMT 16:28 2011 Thursday ,29 December

Scottish universities ordered to widen access

GMT 13:14 2013 Tuesday ,19 March

Qatar’s al-Jazeera to launch UK, French channels

GMT 13:24 2014 Monday ,01 September

Pakistan anti-PM protesters storm state TV

GMT 08:54 2017 Friday ,28 July

Major terrorist plot foiled in Saudi Arabia

GMT 09:23 2017 Monday ,17 July

Tropical Storm,leaves one dead

GMT 13:02 2017 Thursday ,27 July

Iraqi army prepares for a new operation in Diyala

GMT 09:14 2012 Thursday ,16 August

Modern \'Reading Furniture\' range

GMT 05:37 2018 Monday ,08 January

Explosion at Syria jihadist base kills 23: monitor

GMT 23:00 2011 Monday ,19 December

Alessandra Ambrosio Tweets Behind The Scenes Photo

GMT 09:10 2017 Wednesday ,29 November

UN chief strongly condemns N. Korea missile launch

GMT 17:57 2016 Monday ,15 August

‘Godless’ scoops top prize at Swiss film fest

GMT 15:07 2016 Monday ,12 September

Denzel’s role in new movie makes him a kid again

GMT 11:32 2012 Thursday ,20 December

Funny film breaks box office boundaries

GMT 12:10 2011 Sunday ,19 June

Ukraine\'s Naftogaz estimates gas pipe network
 
 Emirates Voice Facebook,emirates voice facebook  Emirates Voice Twitter,emirates voice twitter Emirates Voice Rss,emirates voice rss  Emirates Voice Youtube,emirates voice youtube  Emirates Voice Youtube,emirates voice youtube

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©

emiratesvoieen emiratesvoiceen emiratesvoiceen emiratesvoiceen
emiratesvoice emiratesvoice emiratesvoice
emiratesvoice
بناية النخيل - رأس النبع _ خلف السفارة الفرنسية _بيروت - لبنان
emiratesvoice, Emiratesvoice, Emiratesvoice