The contamination from Fukushima did not fall in concentric circles as the evacuation zones imply. Contamination from the disaster is also not uniform is where it concentrates. By comparing the Chernobyl evacuation zone standards to the contamination levels in Japan it gave a startling view of the problem. The USSR was never faulted for being overly cautious in their evacuation around Chernobyl.
The map represents the mandatory and voluntary evacuation zone radiation level from Chernobyl, applied to the fallout across Japan from Fukushima. The purple is the mandatory levels, the green voluntary. The levels from Chernobyl are:
1 millsievert/year = 0.1142 uSv/h (microsieverts per hour)
5 millisievert/year = 0.5708 uSv/h (microsieverts per hour)
Some areas far from the actual evacuation zone have levels as high as the mandatory evacuation zone in Chernobyl. Pockets of high radiation were found in Myiagi, Iwate, Gunma, Tochigi and even Tokyo. The voluntary zone takes up a considerable amount of the eastern mainland of Japan. After Chernobyl the USSR compensated anyone in a voluntary zone if they decided to leave. Meanwhile Japan is trying to repopulate areas of the evacuation zone near the plant.
We created three maps using the original fallout map created by professor Hayakawa. The main colored map shows the two zones on the professor’s map with two on a black and white map for clearer reference. Print copies of professor Hayakawa’s map can be purchased through the CRMS website.
Continue reading at Fukushima Radiation Exceeds Chernobyl Evacuation Levels Across Japan
