25 Years ago, reactor number 4 at Chernobyl Power Plant exploded, leaving the world in terror. The burning reactor emitted a radioactive cloud, threatening to contaminate all of Europe. This was when the Soviet Union decided to send approximately 800,000 men to the site of the event, the so called Liquidators. They were ordered to remove contaminated objects, such as parts of the actual reactor or contaminated animals, they had to extinguish the fire and they were also the ones who erected the concrete sarcophagus around the reactor. It is clear that without the liquidators, Europe would have suffered a much worse fate from the Chernobyl catastrophy. Also, it is estimated that about 50,000 of them have died in consequence due to their exposure to radioactivity, many more suffer because of other diseases that are a direct effect of radioactivity.
Dog from Chernobyl with mutations due to Radioactivity
Today, in Fukushima, we face a new difficulty: Japan is not a totalitarian state. They can't force their soldiers to go sacrifice themselves. At the moment, there are 50 workers at Fukushima trying to prevent the maximum credible accident, but as we saw from Chernobyl, it takes many more than just 50. Alone, they can't save Fukushima, and if they do, it'll be pure luck.
So what should Japan do now?
What should any liberal democracy do in case of a nuclear meltdown?
