The news has been buzzing recently with headlines that can make the hair on the back of ones neck stand up. The indecisive nature regarding U.S. intervention in Syria has certainly been a large concern on everyone’s mind, but what about the toxic radiation that is being omitted from the Dailchi plant in Fukushima, Japan?

The amount of leaked radiation coming from the Tepco run plant is at an all time record high. The initial radiation reading was a startling 18 times lower than the current reading of 1,800 mSv per hour. Do most people know what ‘mSv’ stands for? No, but we know that the phrases, “radiation, 18 times higher, & fatal” are not something that we ever want to hear in the same sentence.

Japanese officials explain that the amount of toxic radiation that is being released from  the formerly “secured” water tanks, is strong enough to produce fatalities after just four hours of exposure without protection. The large question at hand is ‘what are they going to do to contain the radiation?’ Is there really anything that they CAN do to contain this much radiation?

People might not know that radiation has a half-life of at least 50 years, which means that Hiroshima and Nagasaki weren’t radiation free until five years ago. That is a chilling thought to ponder as what does this mean for the future of the contamination in Fukushima.

If the leakage were to reach the groundwater that leads the ocean, there would be a potentially devastating effect on all marine life which could consequently throw off our entire ecosystem. This leak is not only a problem for the people of Japan, but for the people of the world. Something needs to be done to prevent this radiation from contaminating the ocean, if it hasn’t already.