Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Disaster

Aerial view of Fukushima plant 1975

On March 11, 2011, an earthquake and tsunami hit Japan, causing the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster.  We are now coming up on the fifth anniversary of that event, and the effects of radiation are still impacting the planet. The global impacts from this disaster are too numerous to list here. If you have not seen my previous article, The 311 Moment, in which I wrote about the adverse global effects of this tragic accident on our ecosystem, and their prophetic implications, I recommend reading it for proper background.

I recently read an article by RT News from August 2013, titled "Fukushima apocalypse: Years of ‘duct tape fixes’ could result in ‘millions of deaths’". That report contained some very disturbing information about the fact that they need to remove spent fuel rods from the damaged reactors, which is the most dangerous fuel removal in history. Much of what I am about to tell you is a summary of that report.

They must extract over 1,300 fuel rods at the crippled nuclear power plant. Even the tiniest mistake during this operation could set off a chain reaction of failures with an apocalyptic outcome, according to fallout researcher Christina Consolo. There are 400 tons worth of spent fuel rods, which must be extracted from the plant’s damaged Reactor No. 4. These spent fuel rods are stored in a pool on Reactor 4, which has the most significant problems structurally, and this pool is on the top floor of the building. The cranes that would normally be used for the removal were destroyed in the initial accident, so the operation must be done manually from the top of the damaged building. The integrity of the fuel pool has been severely compromised. This is a radiation-contaminated environment, and it is impossible to use computer-guided robots to perform this task. There is no other way than to do it manually. 

Humans will have to undertake this dangerous and complex task while being blasted with radiation. Each rod is very heavy, weighing two-thirds of a ton, making it difficult to carry or move. They must remove each rod without incident, and this process must be repeated flawlessly over 1,300 times. Even under optimal conditions in a plant that has not been damaged, this is a delicate process, but this will need to be done in a contaminated environment, in a building that is sinking. The workers will need to be replaced often as they reach their radiation dose limit, or if they become physically or mentally incapable of continuing.

If they mishandle a single rod, it may become critical. If the rods come too close to one another, it would set off an unstoppable chain reaction, resulting in a nuclear meltdown above ground, which would release radioactive fallout. Since there would be no way to stop it, this would result in a worst-case scenario. Such a scenario has never happened before in the history of the world. Arnie Gundersen coined the term “Gamma Shine Event” to describe it, and Dr. Christopher Busby has called it an “Open-air super reactor spectacular.” However, there is no other option than to undertake this risky process. If they leave things the way they are now, the risk of a similarly bad outcome increases every day.

As long as they leave the spent fuel rods in place, there are multiple factors that could result in a tremendous disaster. For one, there is the danger of contaminated water build-up which we already know about. There is water running across the surface of the ground into the damaged plant, which becomes contaminated when it comes into contact with the debris. This tainted water is being pumped out and stored in tanks. There are currently 1,000 tanks containing 750,000 tons of radioactive water, and a new tank is added every three to four days. This obviously cannot go on forever, since there is not unlimited space to store these tanks.

Moreover, by pumping water out from under the damaged reactors, they are further weakening the stability of the buildings, which increases the risk of structural compromise or failure. As the buildings shift on such unstable ground, the rods inside could come too close to each other, resulting in another nuclear fire and subsequent meltdown that would leave three, 100-ton blobs of molten radioactive debris underground to contaminate the ground water. Meanwhile those huge, radioactive water storage tanks are subject to corrosion and possible leakage. And all it would take is another earthquake or tsunami to cause the tanks to rupture and release all that water into the ocean.

We already know that this build-up of contaminated water is very dangerous. But the fuel rod situation is far worse. In the early days of the initial accident, the explosion caused damage to the racks inside the pool that contain this fuel. They were initially cooled with saltwater, which has caused the pool walls to become corroded. Corrosion has probably also happened to the fuel rods and racks. Therefore, the contents of the pool could potentially burn and/or explode, causing further damage to the entire structure or even collapse. Once those rods are moved and get too close to each other, this would set off a chain reaction process, which could be self-sustaining and continue for a long time. This would obviously be an apocalyptic scenario. Needless to say, another earthquake or tsunami to hit Fukushima would be all it takes to set something like this off. Since Fukushima sits on an active seismic fault line, and the planet is currently experiencing an average of 1,232 earthquakes per month (M4.0 or higher), or about 40 per day, the probability of this risk is high (see Editor's afterword at the end of this article).

When I read the 2013 article by RT News a few days ago in February 2016, I was hoping to find that this spent fuel rod clean up was successfully completed by now, since that report was three years old. However, I learned from a more recent report that the rods have still not been removed. In fact it will probably take 40 years to do so! On February 11, 2016, CNN published an article titled, "Japan: Fukushima clean-up may take up to 40 years, plant's operator says." According to the article, Akira Ono, head of the Fukushima plant, states the biggest challenge they face in permanently shutting down the plant is removing from three reactors all the nuclear fuel debris that has been melted. Moreover, TEPCO, the power company that operates the plant, says it is in the dark about the current state of the debris. Nobody will know the exact status of the spent fuel rods until they go into the damaged plant to find out.

As you can see, there are potentially apocalyptic scenarios that could occur both before and during the removal of the spent fuel rods. The risk of such scenarios is increased by delaying the clean up, as well as by proceeding with it. The Fukushima Daiichi power plant is a ticking time bomb of global proportions just waiting to go off. When it does, it could result in the deaths of millions or even billions of people. In light of all this, the outlook for the future of this planet is grim.

This dilemma is not isolated to Japan, and is not solely Japan's problem. This is the world's problem. It is mankind's problem. It is higher priority than any other project any nation is working on right now. And even if they were to all stop what they are doing and work together to solve it, all of the kings' horses and all the kings' men could not put Daiichi together again. The only One who can solve this is the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the only answer for this problem.

Therefore, the only solution is for all people of all nations to repent and turn back to God. Put your trust in Jesus. Ask Him to forgive you for your sins and save you. Anyone who refuses to see that this a sign of the Lord's soon return is in denial of reality. In addition, if you put all this together with the signs I outlined in my articles, The Land Mourns in the Last Days and The 311 Moment, it should be obvious to anyone that time is over. Jesus Christ is coming back right away, but He is only coming for the holy ones. So prepare yourself in holiness for His return before it is too late.

Editorial afterword: I was praying that the Lord would give me a powerful conclusion to this article. Amazingly, once I finished writing this present article of mine, and was searching for free images to use in it, I just happened to come across an article posted today (14 hours ago), February 19, 2016 at 13:39, by RT News, titled "5.1 magnitude earthquake strikes off Fukushima coast of Japan." This is breaking news! It states: "A 5.1 magnitude earthquake has struck off the coast of Japan, according to the US Geological Survey. The quake, which had a depth of 20km, struck 105km from the Fukushima Dai-Ni power plant...Fukushima Dai-Ni is just 12km from the Fukushima Daiichi plant, which suffered a meltdown of its nuclear reactors after the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami, resulting in Japan's worst nuclear accident." The fact that this quake happened on the same day I wrote this article, and that I had no idea about it until after I had completed the entire article, should be a confirmation to anyone reading it that this is a message from the Lord!

Upon further research after that, I learned that the seismic activity is becoming more active around Japan. The M5.1 quake was actually the fourth of five quakes in and around Japan on 2/19/2016! Six quakes occurred on 2/18/2016, including an M4.3. Three quakes occurred on 2/17/2016, including an M4.3. In fact, there were a total of twenty-seven quakes reported by the Japan Meteorological Agency in February alone up to the date of this article, including an M6.2 on 2/15/2016. There were also quakes in January as well, including an M4.2 that hit Fukushima offshore on 1/25/2016. I did not know any of this when I wrote the article. Indeed, these earthquakes and the following Scriptures prove the points made in this article:

"And there will be great earthquakes, and in various places plagues and famines; and there will be terrors and great signs from heaven." (Luk 21:11)

"For then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will." (Mat 24:21)

"There will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth dismay among nations, in perplexity at the roaring of the sea and the waves, men fainting from fear and the expectation of the things which are coming upon the world; for the powers of the heavens will be shaken." (Luk 21:25-26)

"Now learn the parable from the fig tree: when its branch has already become tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near; so, you too, when you see all these things, recognize that He is near, right at the door." (Mat 24:32-33)

Sources:
[1] Fukushima apocalypse: Years of ‘duct tape fixes’ could result in ‘millions of deaths’, RT News, August 2013
[2] Japan: Fukushima clean-up may take up to 40 years, plant's operator says, CNN News, February 11, 2016.
[3] Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster, Wikipedia
[4] 5.1 magnitude earthquake strikes off Fukushima coast of Japan, RT News, February 19, 2016 13:39
[5] Japan Meteorological Agency Earthquake Information.
[6] Understanding the accident of Fukushima Daiichi NPS (video) - IRSN, February 2, 2013.
[7] Global Earthquake Numbers on Par for 2015, USGS, Released: 2/1/2016.
[8] List of Earthquakes in 2015, Wikipedia.

Correction: This article originally stated incorrectly that there are 3,000 quakes per month on earth, but there were actually about 1,232 per month in 2015.


Attribution: Scripture quotations taken from the NASB. Aerial image of Fukushima Daiichi nuclea plant in 1975, copyright © National Land Image Information (Color Aerial Photographs), Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, via Wikimedia Commons. 

Author's note: You must take responsibility for your own actions. Nobody knows the day or the hour, and in no way am I date setting. This is only to provide you with information, so that you can make your own decisions, for which you will be accountable to God.  Also see my initial write up about Fukushima disaster and its adverse global effects in The 311 Moment. You may also want to read my other related posts:

The Land Mourns in the Last Days	Michael Shigaba's End Time Message for Mankind	Are You Rapture Ready?
The End Has Come	Trumpet Sounds Heard Around the World	Grieve and Lament for the Church
Something is going on 2012	News Headlines Reflect the End Times	Mark of the Beast (666)
Something is Going on in 2013	Sequence of Signs Preceding the Coming of Christ	Synching Up the Seven Seals with the Gospels

You may also visit our Signs of the Times Directory, and access my complete blog directory at Writing for the Master.

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe.

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"

_________________________________________________

Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org

The Land Mourns in the Last Days

Today I would like to discuss the changes occurring in the earth and its environment, as well as their resulting, adverse effects on wildlife.

A few examples will suffice to make my point. Currently, the earth is experiencing over 3,000 earthquakes per month. That's about 100 earthquakes per day! Giant sinkholes are forming all over the world. These are swallowing up cars and homes and resorts. People have been killed by them. One man was sleeping in his house and the ground opened up and swallowed his house. He screamed for help, but he could not be rescued. Some towns and cities are being plagued by sinkholes, such as Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, USA, which has about 40 sinkholes. Another place called Bayou Corne, Louisiana, USA, has become a ghost town after it had to be evacuated due to a large sinkhole.

There were also a record number of fireballs sighted in the skies worldwide in 2015, as well as a record number of meteorites. As Jesus said, "The stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken." (Mk 13:25, NIV). Likewise, the prophet Isaiah said, "All the stars in the sky will be dissolved and the heavens rolled up like a scroll; all the starry host will fall like withered leaves from the vine, like shriveled figs from the fig tree." (Is 34:4, NIV). Therefore, the signs we are seeing in the sky point to the Lord's imminent return.

Another sign in our environment worth noting is the thinning of the earth's atmosphere. This is according to United States astronaut Scott Kelly, who has just returned from spending a year in space, which is more than any other person has ever been in space. Having orbited the earth over 5,400 times and taken hundreds of photos, he said of the planet's atmosphere in a recent interview, "...it definitely looks very, very fragile and just kind of like this thin film..." Therefore, even the heavens have worn out like an old garment, just as the Scriptures foretold.

For the prophet Isaiah prophesied, "Lift up your eyes to the sky, Then look to the earth beneath; For the sky will vanish like smoke, And the earth will wear out like a garment And its inhabitants will die in like manner; But My salvation will be forever, And My righteousness will not wane." (Is 51:6).

Likewise, the psalmist wrote: "Of old You founded the earth, And the heavens are the work of Your hands. Even they will perish, but You endure; And all of them will wear out like a garment; Like clothing You will change them and they will be changed. But You are the same, And Your years will not come to an end.…" (Ps 102:25-27).

As the earth and sky wear out, our climate is also being severely affected. The Weather Channel documented the top 15 weirdest weather events in 2015, which included Antarctic heat, flooding in one the driest places in the world, record snowfall, record cold temperatures, and record high temperatures. Tornadoes increased in number in the US in 2015. Then there were droughts and wildfires, affecting large regions. In fact, 2015 was among the most damaging year for wildfires ever recorded! There are no indications of these patterns becoming less severe, as scientists predict another year of record heat and more bizarre weather events in 2016.

There are changes happening with the wildlife populations, too. There was a record number of worldwide shark attacks in 2015. The numbers of mass animal deaths are astronomical and rising worldwide. There are millions of fish, birds, and animals dying off in mass. Among the various causes of this phenomenon are starvation, sickness, disease, and suicide. This phenomenon is not localized, but is happening worldwide in 60 to 90 nations or territories. The average number of such "mass die-off" events per year has been around 638 between 2012 and 2014. That's quite a spike from the 144 events recorded prior to that in 2011. And in 2015, the number of events rose even higher to a total of 828 in 96 nations or territories! If this rate of mortality continues, someone has estimated that all the fish in the sea will be gone within 40 years. Furthermore, great numbers of bees are dying off all around the globe. There were 125 known mass death events of bees in 28 countries during the past three years.

Meanwhile, scientists say the Coral Reef is experiencing the longest global coral die off on record, due to a condition known as bleaching. Normally reefs are very colorful exoskeletons built by marine, invertebrate animals, known as corals, which secrete calcium carbonate to form the hard structures. Bleaching occurs when the corals become white or pastel, due to loss of a large percentage of zooxanthellae, a single-celled organism, known as a protozoan. Basically, disease and stress lead to this bleached condition that can kill the coral. In order to understand how serious this is, we need to realize the importance of the coral reef to other marine life.

According to Wikipedia, "Coral reefs...support over one-quarter of all marine species. …Coral reefs form some of the world's most productive ecosystems, providing complex and varied marine habitats that support a wide range of other organisms." Since these reefs are such a vital ecosystem, supporting over 25% of all marine species, it is a foreboding sign when these reefs die off. According to NOAA, "This causes reefs to erode, destroying fish habitat and exposing previously protected shorelines to the destructive force of ocean waves." The current global bleaching event began in 2014 and may continue into 2017.

Putting it All Together
These apocalyptic events that I have just documented are a fulfillment of biblical prophecy, such as the one made by the prophet Hosea, which says, "Therefore the land mourns, And everyone who lives in it languishes Along with the beasts of the field and the birds of the sky, And also the fish of the sea disappear." (Hos 4:3). In this prophecy, there are several things happening -- the land mourns, and everyone living in it is passing away, including the beasts, the birds, and the fish. They are disappearing. This is a perfect description of what we have seen happening during the period from 2011 to the present.

Through the prophet Hosea, the Holy Spirit gives us the reason for these things. He says it is "Because there is no faithfulness or kindness Or knowledge of God in the land. There is swearing, deception, murder, stealing and adultery. They employ violence, so that bloodshed follows bloodshed." (Hos 4:1b-2). The land mourns due to the sin and idolatry that are in it. This is evidenced by the earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, tsunamis, sink holes, droughts, wildfires, and mass animal die offs, including coral reef die offs. Not to mention the thinning of the earth's atmosphere, the record numbers of fireballs, meteorites, extremes of severe weather, and other meteorological events occurring. The whole creation groans and suffers pains right now. And as a result, all life on this planet is being affected.

When you combine all of this with the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Disaster and it's dire consequences, as well as the The End Time Plagues that are currently happening, it's clear that we are in a time of distress such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world, which God created, until now and never will be again!

Those with understanding will understand that these are signs of the times we live in. They point to the fact that the Lord Jesus Christ is coming back right away.  But He is only coming for the holy ones, for a Bride without spot or wrinkle. Therefore, prepare in holiness for His return. Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

Attribution notice: Most Scripture quotation taken from the NASB. Other Scriptures taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version® NIV®.. The photo of numerous dead fish floating in water is in the public domain and was taken by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.

Author's note: You must take responsibility for your own actions. Nobody knows the day or the hour, and in no way am I date setting. This is only to provide you with information, so that you can make your own decisions, for which you will be accountable to God.  You may also want to read my other related posts:

The End Time Plagues	Trumpet Sounds Heard Around the World	Are You Rapture Ready?
The End Has Come	Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Disaster	Grieve and Lament for the Church
Something is Going on in 2013	News Headlines Reflect the End Times	Mark of the Beast (666)
The 311 Moment	Sequence of Signs Preceding the Coming of Christ	Synching Up the Seven Seals with the Gospels

You may also visit our Signs of the Times Directory, and access my complete blog directory at Writing for the Master.

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe.

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"

_________________________________________________

Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org