World: Experts: Forget the scale. Fukushima isn’t as bad as Chernobyl.
- Fukushima was not as bad as Chernobyl. If Fukushima is a level 7 accident, maybe we need to go back and recalibrate the scale and add a level 8 or 9.
- University of Southern California Prof. Najmedin Meshkati • Expressing frustration that Fukushima was rated on the same level as Chernobyl, a 7 on the nuclear accident scale. Japan’s own Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency says it’s only 10 percent as bad as Chernobyl. On top of that, nobody has died from the post-quakeaccident and 21 workers have gotten minor illnesses from radiation. At Chernobyl, a number of people died — dozens immediately and many more from cancer years later. If we’re somehow putting Chernobyl on the same level as Fukushima, something’s wrong about the levels. source