Sunday, June 12, 2011

Rabbit born without ears near Fukushima nuclear plant

FRESH fears over a nuclear leak at the tsunami-ravaged Fukushima plant have re-ignited after a rabbit born close to the facility was found to have no ears. 
 
Locals have been left wondering whether this earless bunny - found near the facility at the end of last month - was the first sign of side-effects from the nuclear catastrophe.

Quake radiation
Residents evacuated from around the Fukushima nuclear plant are checked for radiation contamination. Picture: AP

The Fukushima plant suffered terrible damage when a tsunami, triggered by an earthquake, swept through the facility in March, destroying reactors.

Following a blast at the plant that caused initial leaks, officials warned people living near Fukushima to stay indoors, turn off airconditioning and stop drinking tap water.

Since then experts have been nervously watching radiation levels around the plant.
The Japanese government has already more than doubled the estimate for the amount of radiation released by the plant.

The government's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency also said during a briefing in Tokyo that it was now believed that reactor cores in some of the units melted more quickly than previously thought.

Meanwhile, more than 90,000 people are still living in shelters three months after the tsunami and only a fraction of the debris has been removed. The confirmed death toll from the disaster yesterday reached 15,413 while another 8069 people remain missing.

11 comments:

  1. I wont be going to Japan anytime soon.

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  2. Earless bunny. Damn. I doubt that scrubs and mouth cover they're using is enough to stop radiations.

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  3. o_o
    thanks for sharing, sounds pretty crazy!

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  4. eeek - hope it doesnt affect people too much

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  5. Wow, I didn't realize the death toll was that high. Scary stuff.

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  6. In five years there will be a Japanese anime called Teenage Mutant Ninja Rabbits.

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  7. Almost reminds me of that 3-eyed fish from The Simpsons!

    But seriously, that's pretty scary and my heart goes out to everyone affected by the disaster

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  8. was the bunny functionally fine besides the no ears thing?

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