On March 11, millions of people in Japan and around the world mark the first anniversary of the earthquake that set off a catastrophic chain reaction - a tsunami near Ishinomaki which left 19,000 dead and many more devastated and displaced; and the waves that crashed into the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant in Okuma causing their cooling systems to malfunction leading to meltdowns in three reactors.
Many parts of the 20-kilometre (12-mile) exclusion zone imposed around the Fukushima nuclear plant are likely to remain uninhabitable for years, or decades.
Many parts of the 20-kilometre (12-mile) exclusion zone imposed around the Fukushima nuclear plant are likely to remain uninhabitable for years, or decades.
While many citizens in the affected area, in north-east Japan were forced or urged to flee the contaminated area, some farmers refused to leave.
New Scientist (10 March 2012) documents the work of farmers near the Fukushima nuclear plant who remained on their land, and studied the effects of radioisotopes on their crops.
Nobuyoshi Ito began to study the nuclear fallout on his crops 30 kilometres from the Fukushima power station—a designated radioactive hotspot. He collected data from 17 rice paddy fields and vegetable patches. He claims that food grown in contaminated soil contained relatively low levels of caesium—the highest was 101 becquerels per kilogram in sweet potatoes which was five times below the government’s safety limit. During winter snowfall, the radioactivity levels on his farm almost halved. This was because, he speculated, the snow seemed to block radiation.
Naoto Matsumura in Tomioka, just a few kilometres from the Fukushima nuclear plant, also chose to stay to care for the animals inside the 20-kilometre evacuation zone. He worked with Masamichi Yamashita, a Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency researcher to determine what to do with the animals to avoid extermination. Their solution was to get the cows to eat the caesium-contaminated grass, and use bacteria to compost their waste.
Unlike humans, cows do not absorb caesium—therefore it is deposited in their manure. Their solution meant that the contaminated grass could be reduced or eliminated without human contact, and the cows would avoid being systematically killed by humans. However, the cows’ manure would still need processing. Other farmers who decided to stay are testing how well materials such as zeolite, scallop shells, potassium fertilizer, and sea mud can absorb caesium in rice paddies. Another farmer, Seiji Sugeno of Nihonmatsu, 75 kilometers from the nuclear plant, is working with an agriculture professor, Masanori Nonaka from the Niigata University, to plough his contaminated land to bury the caesium. This aims to trap the caesium in the clay below to make it less likely to be absorbed by plant roots.
The work of the farmers who made a conscious decision not to leave their land within the 20-kilometre exclusion (evacuation) zone will significantly contribute to pertinent agricultural research that may have implications for future knowledge of radioactivity, nuclear waste, animal care, and food production.
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