Fukushima disaster response-The states' perspective

摘要

On 11 March 2011, all eyes turned to Japan as news of the catastrophic earthquake and tsunami spread. The tsunami swept over six nuclear reactors on the coast of Fukushima Prefecture, crippling safety systems that cool the reactors. High temperatures damaged fuel rods leading to explosive reactions and released radiation. U.S. public response was nearly immediate. Calls started coming in to state officials as early as 12 March. While the sampling results were orders of magnitude below any real concern, the public demanded answers regarding taking potassium iodine, the sharing of data, what the data meant, how contamination issues were being addressed, and a host of other questions. States had to take some early actions in response to these demands, especially since during the first few days there was a lack of official information coming from the federal government. Some examples of these actions include collaboration among the states to develop and share Frequently Asked Questions, monitoring data, and laboratory results. Public messaging was developed through several conference calls that included colleagues in British Columbia. Initial federal information was provided to the media, without prior notice to the states, through a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency press release announcing that the plume was discovered in California andWashington.