Accident at Tokai nuke plant could force 520,000 to evacuate outside Ibaraki Pref. Japan

[yuiyoshida]

A serious nuclear accident at the Tokai No. 2 Power Station in Ibaraki Prefecture could result in about 520,000 people living within 30 kilometers of the plant taking shelter in other prefectures, according to a prefectural evacuation draft.

Some 960,000 people live within the urgent protective action planning zone (UPZ) within a 30 kilometer radius of the plant in Tokai, Ibaraki Prefecture. Of these, some 520,000 would likely take shelter in five neighboring prefectures, while the remaining 440,000 would evacuate to other areas within Ibaraki Prefecture, according to the draft released on June 6 by the Ibaraki Prefectural Government.

Cities, towns and villages are expected to devise concrete evacuation plans to respond to a serious nuclear accident, but the large number of evacuees is expected to make it difficult to formulate plans securing places for them to stay while avoiding confusion.

"Evacuation within the prefecture alone is impossible," Ibaraki Gov. Masaru Hashimoto said. "I want to have other prefectures accept people."

http://mainichi.jp/english/english/newsselect/news/20140807p2a00m0na015000c.html

[Art_from_Ark]

1. That headline is misleading because it makes it seem an accident has just occurred

It sent a chill down my spine because I live pretty darn close to Tokai-mura.

But the story is actually about a *hypothetical*, Fukushima Dai-ichi type of accident. Worse than the critical mass accident that occurred in September 1999 which resulted in 2 fatalities and the evacuation of 40 households that were within a 350-meter radius of the facility.

[Trillo]

2. All the nuclear plants need to be shut down.

They're simply too dangerous.

Keep ramping up the solar and wind, those are or seem the best options.