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ELAC Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Disaster Discussion
please reply to 2 posts separately and add references
post 1
Hello all and happy week 5!
In this week’s discussion I will be talking about a nuclear accident known as the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Disaster. To explain a little bit about this major disaster, it occurred in result of an earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan, (BBC, 2021). The 9.0 earthquake struck Japan approximately 10 years ago that happened to be very strong and full of force that it caused the Earth to shift off its axis, (BBC, 2021). After this, it soon caused a tsunami which occurred in the island of Honshu where more than 18,000 people lost their lives, (BBC, 2021).
At what point does a technological or man made event become labeled a disaster?
At the Fukushima nuclear power plant, this major earthquake caused a shut down of the nuclear reactors, and a flood which damaged the emergency generators, then causing a major radiation leak from the plant, forcing more than 150,000 people to evacuate and therefore, sparking a major disaster, (BBC, 2021). Not to mention, the damage was so grand that it caused nuclear meltdowns and a great number of hydrogen explosions, (BBC, 2021). So how does a man made event like this become labeled as a disaster? It has been discovered that when the destructive effects of either a man made or natural forces, meaning an event with an “identifiable cause or factor,” which causes dangerous, detrimental affects to a given area or community is labeled as a disaster, (Lindsey, 2021). Therefore, this nuclear disaster became labeled as a disaster when the earthquake’s large magnitude (of 9.0), caused a tsunami which then caused the flooding of a nearby nuclear power plant, which in turn not only endangered the lives of thousands of people, but the events prior to the disaster also cost thousands of people their lives.
Name and explain the impact categories associated with your disaster.
Due to the earthquake in Japan and its leading to the loss of off site and on site electrical power at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear plants, there were loss of cooling functions on three operating reactors as well as fuel pools, (GF, 2016). This caused the reactors to overheat, the nuclear fuel to melt, and three containment vessels breached, (GF, 2016). Not to mention, this caused explosions which damaged buildings and equipment and also harmed personnel, (GF, 2016). Due to the impact of the disaster and all the damage left in it’s path, the accident was rated a level 7 on the International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale, (WNA, 2021). The incident was rated a level 7 because there was activity of high radioactive releases that occurred for 4-6 days, and according to research, eventually a total of some 940 PBq (I-131 eq), (WNA, 2021). Also, this was labeled as category 7 because of the Fukushima Daiichi reactors that were written off due to the severe damage of the accident, (WNA, 2021).
What nursing interventions would be a priority for these victims?
When it comes to a nuclear disaster and the types of interventions nurses should take, it could range from a variety of things, and also being prepared in unforeseen circumstances such as being prepared in case of a hospital evacuation, or if a hospital was the focal point of disaster, (Nukui, 2018).
However, since research showed that in the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Disaster there was no immediate threat to a hospital, victims could be seen and treated at one nearby. According to research, there were approximately 18,000 people who lost their lives from the earthquake and tsunami prior to the nuclear explosion, however, in the case of the explosion, no lives were taken but there were about 150,000 people who had to evacuate, (BBC, 2021). When it is the case of thousands of people having to evacuate and personally speaking, I believe that PTSD would be a priority suspected issue, (Nukui, 2018). The reason why I believe that nursing interventions for PTSD should be a priority is because if the community is being told to evacuate then they might be anxious, afraid or scared because they do not know what events might take place. They might also have anxiety because they do not know if they will lose their home, their lives, their loved ones etc. Not to mention if the community/public becomes warned to evacuate because of a power plant threat then they might also be afraid to get exposed to radiation which is known to lead to complications.
To support my opinion, I conducted research and found that the radiation exposure level in Fukushima was reported as much lower than in other bombing events such as the Hiroshima or Chernobyl bombings, (Nukui, 2018). However, it was known that the community had health concerns about radiation exposure, (Nukui, 2018). Not to mention, some victims say that even though they relatively did not hear the sounds of the nuclear power plant explosion, those who did could be at risk for PTSD onset, (Nukui, 2018). However, after a health management survey was conducted in Fukushima, it was concluded that people reported feeling PTSD like symptoms, (confirming that it can still be felt without hearing the explosion first hand), and also indicated that greater than 30% of the residents in the community were experiencing high risk trauma based on the results, (Nukui, 2018). With these results, the scores of those patients with a score indicating a high traumatic symptom or symptoms, are at risk for developing tendencies for poor mental health, (Nukui, 2018).
post 2
Hello everyone!
Happy week 5!
A technological disaster is an event caused by a malfunction of a technological structure and/or some human error in controlling or handling the technology. Technological disasters can be considered a man-made disasters meaning there is an “identifiable cause” characteristic (Lindsey et al., 2021). The technical disaster I decided to talk about is the Happy Land club fire in New York City.
- At what point does a technological or manmade event become labeled a disaster?
In the early morning hours of March 25, 1990, in New York City, a large group of young people, predominantly Hondurans, gathered at a Bronx social club to celebrate Carnival with a night of fun, dancing, and drinking (Hensler, 2020). A bouncer expelled one patron after he got into an argument with his ex-girlfriend, who worked at the club. He returned, armed with gasoline, and set fire to the only entrance and escape points and 87 people died (Hensler, 2020). At the time, the Happy Land fire was the deadliest fire in New York City since the Triangle Shirtwaist Company fire in 1911, which happened to be exactly 79 years to the day before Happy Land (Hensler, 2020). The Happy Land social club, like hundreds of other illegal social clubs in the city at the time, lacked a state liquor license. The club had been ordered shuttered for code infractions 16 months before the occurrence, so city officials were aware of it. The club continued to operate despite the citation and order (Hensler, 2020).
The link is below:
- Name and explain the impact categories associated with your disaster.
Julio Gonzalez, who had been ejected from the club earlier after fighting with his girlfriend, poured and ignited gasoline at the entrance of the club (Barcacel, 2018). 87 people died because of his act of vengeance, asphyxiated, or charred to death by the raging fire that swept up the stairway to the second story (Hensler, 2020). The club’s windows and other exits were barricaded, and there was no sprinkler system, so the people inside had no way out (Barcacel, 2018). The cause of the fire was attributed to fire/arson-related crime after an investigation into the deadly fire disaster. The perpetrator poured gasoline down the stairwell, the main entrance to the club, and ignited the fuel supply. Because there were no safety precautions in place, the structure became a fire hazard (Samplius, 2019). This shows that if a fire breaks out in the building, it will be dangerous for the individuals within, as the instance is shown. A considerable number of those who perished because of smoke inhalation and suffocation made up the majority of those who died in this mishap. Whatever the case may be, a few people figured out how to flee the burning structure (Samplius, 2019).
Links are below:
References
Barcacel, D. B. (2018, March 19). Remembering the Victims of the Happy Land Fire. This is the Bronx. https://www.thisisthebronx.info/remembering-the-victims-of-the-happy-land-fire/.
Hensler, B. (2020, March 25). 30 years later: Reflecting on the Happy Land social club fire and similar incidents. FireRescue1. https://www.firerescue1.com/fatal-fires/articles/30-years-later-reflecting-on-the-happy-land-social-club-fire-and-similar-incidents/.
Samplius (2019, December 3). Overview Of the Happy land Fire – An Act of Arson That Killed 87 People: https://samplius.com/free-essay-examples/overview-of-the-happy-land-fire-an-act-of-arson-that-killed-87-people/ (Links to an external site.).
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