First Posted: 1/20/2014

Not long ago there was this little disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant – remember it? If you don’t remember, I won’t be mad because it seems to have just dropped off the face of the planet. For something so catastrophic, you would think we would hear regular updates on the situation. The plant was hit by an earthquake triggered by a massive tsunami, which hit the facility so hard it ended up releasing a substantial amount of radioactive materials. Fukushima has been the largest nuclear debacle since Chernobyl, and we all know what happened to that town.

As of July 2013, radiation was still leaking into the ocean, and fishing near the site was prohibited. TEPCO, the plant’s utility operator, tried to hide the fact that the plant was still leaking and there was nothing they could do to stop it. According to the Japan Daily Press, Fukushima’s No. 3 reactor is still leaking.

Several independent researchers have measured high levels of radiation on the West Coast of the United States. Dr. Peter Raimondi of the University of Santa Cruz says the damage from Fukushima, along with large amounts of debris, is the cause of a disease that has been wiping out starfish up and down the West Coast.

If you check out environmental news, you probably have noticed the strange amount of dead birds showing up on the West Coast. From the dead birds along the Alaskan coastline to the thousands of birds in Oregon, there seems to be little explanation as to why this is happening. The Alaska Dispatch reported that seals and walruses in Alaska have been losing hair and even developing oozing sores, but no one can figure out why.

According to ecowatch.com, the U.S. Navy sailors who assisted with the 2011 Fukushima disaster returned with cancer and other types of radioactive poisoning. 71 sailors reported radiation sickness and are filing a lawsuit against TEPCO. Paul Garner, an attorney representing several of the sailors, says a lot of the men are suffering from leukemia and testicular cancer.

The Newcastle Herald reported a horrific story about an Australian man who sailed from Melbourne to Osaka twice. The first time was 10 years before Fukushima; the second time was after. Ivan MacFadyen was shocked by how little wildlife he saw his second time around – no birds, no dolphins, no turtles, hardly any fish, pretty much no life at all.

“After we left Japan, it felt as if the ocean itself was dead,” MacFadyen told the Herald. MacFadyen and his crew traveled 3,000 miles and saw one whale that seemed to have some sort of tumor on its head; other than the whale, there was nothing alive to be seen.

California fish are also contaminated with Fukushima radiation – fish we eat. A recent test conducted in California found 15 out of 15 Bluefin Tuna were contaminated. You should probably be a bit concerned about all that sushi you eat.

You might hear the government warning citizens not to be alarmed, but these reports should be a bit more public so consumers can at least make their own decision about whether or not they want to eat radioactive fish.

Since the incident, Fukushima is and will continue to be a hazard to not only Japan’s environment, but to our environment as well. Millions of people could end up ill as a result of Fukushima, so it’s a good idea to dig a bit deeper than the mainstream media to get the facts.