"What is the United States government waiting for?"

Japanese diplomat Akio Matsumura, more than anyone, has raised the alarm about the structural integrity of the Fukushima Daiichi Unit 4 high-level radioactive waste storage pool. Matsumura has published a new essay explaining the Japanese government's inaction, and calling for international action. Matsumura argues that the U.S., in order to protect its own interests, must urge the Japanese government to allow in an independent assessment team to determine the status of the Unit 4 pool, and the best path forward on removing its irradiated nuclear fuel, before another big earthquake strikes.

Geologists predict a 90% chance of a Magnitude 7.0 quake hitting the Fukushima area in the next three years. Unit 4's collapse could result in its high-level radioactive waste catching fire, unleashing a global catastrophe. Unit 4's high-level radioactive waste pool contains 8 to 10 times the Cs-137 released by Chernobyl, but its release would put in jeopardy all seven high-level radioactive waste storage pools at Fukushima Daiichi, containing 85 times, or more, Chernobyl's Cs-137. Such a worst-case scenario would certainly result in significant radioactive fallout on the North American mainland, not to mention further contamination of the Pacific Ocean, and radioactivity bio-concentration in the food chain. 

Please contact the White House, and urge President Obama to offer cooperative assistance to the Japanese government, in order to independently assess the Unit 4 pool, and determine how best to quickly remove the irradiated nuclear fuel before the reactor building collapses.