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Study: Radioactive Release in Japan Twice as Large as Estimated

HeadlineOct 28, 2011

A new report out of Japan has found the Fukushima nuclear disaster released twice as much radioactive cesium-137 into the atmosphere as Japanese authorities estimated. The Norwegian Institute for Air Research says the amount released was about 42 percent of the total from Chernobyl—the world’s worst nuclear disaster. The study said about a fifth of the cesium fell on land in Japan, while most of the rest fell into the Pacific Ocean. Meanwhile, 100 women from Fukushima have begun a three-day sit-in outside the Tokyo office of Japan’s Ministry of Economy, calling for the evacuation of children from areas with high radiation levels and the closing of nuclear power plants in Japan.

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