Fukushima plant workers evacuate after tsunami warning

Workers at the embattled Fukushima nuclear power plant in Japan were evacuated earlier Wednesday after tsunami warnings were issued across the country.

The plant’s operator said all 4,000 workers had been evacuated, adding that no “abnormality” was found.

This was after the 8.7-magnitude earthquake struck Russia’s Far East Coast, which triggered a warning throughout the Pacific Ocean.

For many in Fukushima Prefecture, warnings may bring back memories of one of the world’s worst nuclear disasters.

In March 2011, Japan was hit by a devastating 9.0 magnitude earthquake and subsequent tsunami, which later killed more than 18,000 people.

The tsunami flooded the plant, disabling its emergency generator and causing it to overheat – causing nuclear collapse.

Fukushima still retains hundreds of tons of extremely dangerous materials – even after 14 years, the challenges and controversies surrounding it remain very much.

On March 11, 2011, an earthquake – known as the Great East Japan Earthquake – hit the east of Sendai City, just 97 kilometers (60 miles) north of the power plant.

Hydrogen explosions caused by earthquakes and tsunamis have damaged the reactor buildings in Fukushima. The tsunami crashed the cooling system into the reactor, and three of them melted.

The plant has also suffered a number of chemical explosions that have severely damaged the buildings and, to make matters worse, radioactive materials began to leak into the atmosphere and the Pacific Ocean.

The government quickly announced a 30-kilometer exclusion zone around the plant, evacuating more than 150,000 people warned not to return due to radiation problems.

Even now, much of the area is still restricted – abandoned houses, empty neighborhoods and faded storefronts can be displayed.

A total of 880 tons of hazardous substances – a mixture of melted nuclear fuel and reactor structures – remain within the Fukushima plant.

Removing this debris from the reactor is considered the biggest challenge for safely decommissioned plants.

Over the next 30 to 40 years, tens of thousands of workers will be needed to safely remove nuclear waste, fuel rods and more than one million tons of radioactive water. The estimated cleaning costs are approximately 2.15 tr yen ($14.5 billion; $3.11 billion).

TEPCO said earlier this week that the start of a full removal of melted fuel debris will be delayed until 2037 or later – saying it will take at least 12-15 years to prepare for it.

The plan has been delayed countless times, and the latest delay is a major setback in the government’s plan to complete its retirement by 2051.

TEPCO still insists that it can achieve this, but some experts question it.

“Who really believes that between 2037 and 2051, all 880 tons of debris can be removed within 14 years? It is not good to maintain unrealistic goals when considering the recovery of Fukushima,” Shunji Matsuoka, professor of environmental economics and policy studies at Vasada University, told local news media Asahi.

Then there is the water problem.

Since the disaster, power plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Holdings Corporation (TEPCO), has been pumping water in the water to cool the reactor’s fuel rods. This means that the plant produces contaminated water every day, which is stored in over 1,000 tanks, enough to fill over 500 Olympic swimming pools.

But Japan needs the land occupied by tanks to build new facilities to safely decommission the factory – in 2023, it begins releasing some of the treated wastewater into the ocean.

Although the United Nations’ atomic regulator says it will have a “negligible” impact on people and the environment, there is still a lot of criticism and controversy that fits the plan.

Japan initially began to get rid of nuclear energy after the Fukushima disaster – but the government has gradually begun to reverse that policy.

Earlier this year, Japan said it needed to rely on nuclear energy to meet the needs of its longing power sectors, such as AI and semiconductors, and released an energy plan that calls for “maximization” of nuclear energy.

This week, utility Kansai Electric Power said it would consider whether it could build a new reactor – the project was suspended after Fukushima.

But locals opposed the plan – Wednesday’s tsunami warning could raise concerns.

The Japan Meteorological Bureau said the tsunami wave has reached part of the coast, including Fukushima.

In such areas, waves can reach up to 3m (9 feet) and thousands of waves are informed of evacuation for safety.

Japan’s unstable position on the ring of fire means it experiences about 1,500 earthquakes per year. The imminent threat of earthquakes has always existed.

It is also widely regarded as one of the most earthquake-friendly countries in the world. Its citizens have been participating in earthquake training since childhood, and the purpose of its buildings is to resist earthquakes.

Still, many in Japan are concerned about the “big one” – the worst-case scenario predicts that an earthquake once a century could kill as many as 300,000 people, triggering a tsunami of up to 30 million (100 feet) on the country’s Pacific coast.

Experts say that in the next 30 years, there is a 70% to 80% chance of being in the 8 or 9 level possibility somewhere along the South Kai Chau in Japan.