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Persecuzione dei musulmani

Persecuzione dei musulmani si riferisce alle persecuzioni religiose inflitte ai musulmani. Per persecuzione si intendono gli atti di violenza, la tortura, la confisca o la distruzione di proprietà. La persecuzione può estendersi al di là di quelli che percepiscono se stessi come musulmani fino a comprendere sia coloro che vengono percepiti dagli altri come musulmani sia i musulmani che sono considerati non-musulmani dai loro stessi correligionari.

Persecuzione di gruppi minoritari/settari di musulmani da parte di altri gruppi di musulmani

Persecution of Ahmadis

The Ahmadiyya regard themselves as Muslims, but are seen by many other Muslims as non-Muslims and "heretics". Armed groups, led by the umbrella organization Khatme Nabuwat ("Finality of Prophethood"), have launched violent attacks against their mosques in Bangladesh.

They committed massacres against them which resulted in 2,000 Ahmadiyya deaths in Pakistani Punjab. Eventually, martial law had to be established and Governor general Ghulam Mohamed dismissed the federal cabinet. This anti-Ahmadiyya movement led Pakistani prime minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto to declare that the Ahmadiyyas were "non-Muslims".

In 1984, the Government of Pakistan, under General Zia-ul-Haq, passed Ordinance XX, which banned proselytizing by Ahmadis and also banned Ahmadis from referring to themselves as Muslims. According to this ordinance, any Ahmadi who refers to oneself as a Muslim by words, either spoken or written, or by visible representation, directly or indirectly, or makes the call for prayer as other Muslims do, is punishable by imprisonment of up to 3 years. Because of these difficulties, Mirza Tahir Ahmad migrated to London, UK.

Persecution of Ajlaf and Arzal Muslims in South Asia

Despite Islam's egalitarian tenets, units of social stratification, termed as "castes" by many, have developed among Muslims in some parts of South Asia. Various theories have been put forward regarding the development of castes among Indian Muslims. Majority of sources state that the castes among Muslims developed as the result of close contact with Hindu culture and Hindu converts to Islam, while few others feel that these developed based on claims of descent from the prophet Mohammed.

Sections of the ulema (scholars of Islamic jurisprudence) have declared the religious legitimacy of the caste system with the help of the concept of kafa'a. A classic example of scholarly literature supporting the Muslim caste system is the Fatawa-i Jahandari, written by the fourteenth century Turkish scholar, Ziauddin Barani, a member of the court of Muhammad bin Tughlaq, of the Tughlaq dynasty of the Delhi Sultanate. Barani was known for his intensely casteist views, and he regarded the Ashraf Muslims as racially superior to the Ajlaf Muslims. He divided the Muslims into grades and sub-grades. In his scheme, all high positions and privileges were to be a monopoly of the high born Turks, not the Indian Muslims. Even in his interpretation of the Koranic verse "Indeed, the pious amongst you are most honored by Allah", he considered piety to be associated with noble birth. Barrani was specific in his recommendation that the "sons of Mohamed" [i.e. Ashrafs] "be given a higher social status than the low-born [i.e. Ajlaf]. His most significant contribution in the fatwa was his analysis of the castes with respect to Islam. His assertion was that castes would be mandated through state laws or "Zawabi" which would carry precedence over Sharia law whenever they were in conflict. In the Fatwa-i-Jahandari (advice XXI), he wrote about the "qualities of the high-born" as being "virtuous" and the "low-born" as being the "custodians of vices". Every act which is "contaminated with meanness and based on ignominy, comes elegantly [from the Ajlaf]". Barani had a clear disdain for the Ajlaf and strongly recommended that they be denied education, lest they usurp the Ashraf masters. He sought appropriate religious sanction to that effect. Barrani also developed an elaborate system of promotion and demotion of Imperial officers ("Wazirs") that was conducted primarily on the basis of caste.

In addition to the Ashraf/Ajlaf divide, there is also the Arzal caste among Muslims, whose members were regarded by anti-Caste activists like Babasaheb Ambedkar as the equivalent of untouchables. The term "Arzal" stands for "degraded" and the Arzal castes are further subdivided into Bhanar, Halalkhor, Hijra, Kasbi, Lalbegi, Maugta, Mehtar etc. The Arzal group was recorded in the 1901 census in India and its members are also called Dalit Muslims “with whom no other Muhammadan would associate, and who are forbidden to enter the mosque or to use the public burial ground”. They are relegated to "menial" professions such as scavenging and carrying night soil.

Storia delle Persecuzioni cristiane dei musulmani

Persecuzione dei musulmani in Medio Oriente durante le Crociate

Crociati cristiani lanciano sui bastioni teste di musulmani durante l'assedio di Nicea del 1097.

La Prima crociata fu lanciata nel 1095 da Papa Urbano II con l'obiettivo dichiarato di riprendere il controllo della città santa Gerusalemme e della Terra Santa dai musulmani che le avevano conquistate ai Bizantini nel 638 ed in parte in conseguenza della Lotta per le investiture che fu il più significativo conflitto tra poteri secolare e religioso nell'Europa medievale. Cominciò come una disputa tra il Sacro Romano Imperatore ed il Papato gregoriano e diede origine al concetto politico di cristianità come unione di tutti i popoli e sovrani, sotto la guida del Papa, poiché entrambe le parti cercarono di dirigere l'opinione pubblica in proprio favore, la popolazione si ritrovò direttamente impegnata in una drammatica polemica religiosa. Di grande importanza fu anche la serie di vittorie conseguite dai Turchi selgiuchidi, che vide la fine della dominazione araba a Gerusalemme.

Persecuzione dei musulmani nell'Europa meridionale

Il normanno Regno di Sicilia di Ruggero II è stato caratterizzato dalla sua natura multietnica e dalla tolleranza religiosa. Normanni, ebrei, arabi musulmani, greci bizantini, francesi settentrionali, popolazioni "longobarde" e siciliani "nativi" vissero in discreta armonia sotto il potere normanno. Per almeno un secolo l'arabo rimase una lingua del governo e dell'amministrazione nello stato normanno e tracce permangono ancora oggi nella lingua dell'isola.

Tuttavia, quando i Normanni ebbero conquistato l'isola, i musulmani dovettero scegliere tra la volontaria partenza o l'assoggettamento all'autorità cristiana. Molti musulmani scelsero di andarsene, sempre che avessero i mezzi per farlo. Infatti la loro religione proibisce ai musulmani di vivere sotto un governo non-musulmano, se ciò possa essere evitato. Una parte della comunità islamica tuttavia rimase, anche alla luce di una importante fatwa dell'imam al-Māzarī che legittimava la permanenza di musulmani in Dar al-Harb purché fosse loro consentito di godere sostanziosamente del portato della Legge islamica.

“La trasformazione della Sicilia in una terra cristiana”, sottolinea Abulafia, “fu anche, paradossalmente, opera di coloro la cui cultura era minacciata”. Nonostante la presenza di popolazione cristiana di lingua araba, alcuni contadini musulmani cominciarono ad accettare il battesimo dai cristiani greco-ortodossi, adottando nomi greco-ortodossi; in molti casi, servi della gleba cristiani aventi nomi greci, elencati nei registri di Monreale, avevano genitori musulmani viventi. Tuttavia i governanti normanni seguirono costantemente una politica di latinizzazione (intesa come conversione dell'isola al Cristianesimo romano). Alcuni musulmani finsero di convertirsi: un rimedio che poteva fornire protezione individuale, ma non consentire la sopravvivenza una comunità.

Negli anni 1160 iniziarono i pogrom "longobardi" (intesi nel senso di "genti lombarde", ma in realtà "piemontesi e lombarde") contro i musulmani che in Sicilia furono sempre più separati dai cristiani, anche dal punto di vista geografico. La maggior parte delle comunità musulmane dell'isola fu confinata oltre una frontiera interna che divideva la metà sud-occidentale dell'isola dal cristiano nord-est. I musulmani siciliani erano una popolazione sottomessa, che dipendeva dalla benevolenza dei padroni cristiani e in ultima analisi, dalla protezione reale. Fin tanto che si poté esprimere la protezione della Corona normanna sui suoi sudditi musulmani, le cose non precipitarono ma una violenta rivolta di alcuni nobili contro re Guglielmo il Malo comportò anche l'esplodere di una politica ferocemente anti-musulmana nell'isola. La dura repressione regia della rivolta di Ruggiero Schiavo e di una parte della nobiltà, aveva nel 1161 salvato la vita ai sudditi musulmani della Corona. Si ricorderà, ad esempio, come fu distrutta la ribelle città di Piazza (che allora sorgeva nell'attuale zona del Casale, non a caso chiamato dei testi dell'epoca Casalis Sarracenorum) e come fossa ripopolata la nuova città, fatta risorgere sul colle che ancor oggi la ospita, con genti lombarde (in maggioranza però del Monferrato, di Novara, di Asti e di Alessandria), che v'imposero la loro parlata che con crescenti difficoltà è in uso ancor oggi. Quando re Guglielmo il Buono morì però nel 1189, la protezione reale venne meno e si poté dare il via a incontrastate aggressioni contro i musulmani dell'isola, facendo scomparire ogni residua speranza di coesistenza, nonostante la totale subordinazione musulmana all'elemento cristiano.

Dopo la morte di Enrico VI nel 1197 e quella di sua moglie Costanza l'anno successivo in Sicilia si verificarono tumulti politici. Priva della protezione reale e con Federico II ancora fanciullo sotto la custodia del papa, la Sicilia divenne un campo di battaglia per le forze rivali tedesche e papali. I ribelli musulmani dell'isola si schierarono con i signori della guerra tedeschi, come Marcovaldo di Annweiler. In risposta, Innocenzo III proclamò una crociata contro Marcovaldo, sostenendo che aveva stretto una diabolica alleanza con i Saraceni di Sicilia. Nondimeno, nel 1206 lo stesso papa tentò di convincere i leader musulmani a rimanere leali. A quell'epoca, stava assumendo proporzioni critiche la ribellione dei musulmani, che controllavano Jato, Entella, Platani, Celso, Calatrasi, Corleone (presa nel 1208), Guastanella e Cinisi. In altre parole, la rivolta musulmana si era estesa ad un intero tratto della Sicilia occidentale. I ribelli erano guidati da Muhammad b. ʿAbbād; che si proclamò "principe dei credenti", coniò sue monete e tentò di ottenere aiuto da altre parti del mondo musulmano.

Nel 1221 Federico II, non più bambino, rispose con una serie di campagne contro i ribelli musulmani e le forze degli Hohenstaufen sradicarono i difensori da Jato, Entella e dalle altre fortezze. Piuttosto che sterminarli, nel 1223, Federico II ed i cristiani cominciarono le prima deportazioni di musulmani a Lucera. Un anno più tardi, furono inviate spedizioni per porre sotto il controllo reale Malta e Gerba ed evitare che le loro popolazioni musulmane aiutassero i ribelli. Paradossalmente, in quest'epoca gli arcieri saraceni erano una componente comune di questi eserciti "cristiani" e la presenza di contingenti musulmani nell'esercito imperiale rimase una realtà anche sotto Manfredi e Corradino.

Gli Hohenstaufen ed i loro successori Angioini ed Aragonesi, nel corso di due secoli, "latinizzarono" gradualmente la Sicilia, e questo processo sociale gettò le basi per l'introduzione del Cristianesimo di obbedienza romana, in contrasto con l'ortodossia greco-bizantina.
Il processo di latinizzazione fu grandemente favorito dalla Chiesa di Roma e dalla sua liturgia.
L'annientamento dell'Islam in Sicilia fu completato entro la fine degli anni 40 del XIII secolo, quando ebbero luogo le ultime deportazioni a Lucera.

Durante il primo secolo dopo la conquista normanna la popolazione musulmana visse bene in Sicilia. Gl Arabi rimasero privilegiati nelle questioni di governo. In effetti, 4.000 arcieri saraceni presero parte a varie battaglie tra le forze cristiane. Quando i Normanni ed in seguito gli Angioini persero il controllo dell'isola in favore di Pietro di Aragona cominciò il declino dell'Islam. I governanti normanni seguirono una politica di continua latinizzazione, riportando l'isola all'interno della Cattolicità). Some Muslims chose the option of feigning conversion, but such a remedy could only provide individual protection and could not sustain a community.

Lombard pogroms against Muslims started in the 1160s. Muslim and Christian communities in Sicily became increasingly geographically separated. The island’s Muslim communities were mainly isolated beyond an internal frontier which divided the south-western half of the island from the Christian north-east. Sicilian Muslims, a subject population, were dependent on the mercy of their Christian masters and, ultimately, on royal protection. When re Guglielmo il Buono died in 1189, this royal protection was lifted, and the door was opened for widespread attacks against the island’s Muslims. Islam was no longer a major presence in the Island by the 14th century. Toleration of Muslims ended with Increasing Hohenstaufen control. Many repressive measures, passed by Federico II, were introduced in order to please the Popes who could not tolerate Islam being practiced in the heart of Cristianità, which resulted in a rebellion of Sicily's Muslims. This in turn triggered organized resistance and systematic reprisals and marked the final chapter of Islam in Sicily. The rebellion abated, but direct papal pressure induced Frederick to mass transfer all his Muslim subjects deep into the Italian hinterland, to Lucera.

Nella penisola iberica

A victim of the inquisition being burned and tortured to death

During the centuries of Reconquista (711-1492), the Christian North of the Iberian Peninsula and the Southern Muslim-ruled Al Andalus battled internally and against each other. It ended with the Christian domination of the Peninsula.

Depending on the local capitulations, local Muslims were allowed to remain (Mudéjars) with some restrictions and some assimilated into the Christian population. After the conquest of Granada, all the Spanish Muslims were under Christian rule. The new acquired population spoke Arabic and the campaigns to convert them were unsuccessful. Legislation was gradually introduced to remove Islam, culminating with the Muslims being forced to convert to Catholicism by the Spanish Inquisition. They were known as Moriscos and considered New Christians. Further laws were introduced, as on 25 May 1566, stipulating that they 'had to abandon the use of Arabic, change their costumes, that their doors must remain open every Friday, and other feast days, and that their baths, public and private, to be torn down.'. The reason doors were to be left open so as to determine whether they secretly observed any Islamic festivals. King Philip II of Spain ordered the destruction of all public baths on the grounds of them being relics of infidelity, notorious for their use by Muslims performing their purification rites. The possession of books or papers in Arabic was near concrete proof of disobedience with severe repercussions. On 1 January 1568, Christian priests were ordered to take all Muslim children, between the ages of three and fifteen, and place them in schools, where they should learn Castillian and Christian doctrine. All these laws and measures required forced to be implemented, and from much earlier. In Aragon alone, during the close of the 15th century, fifty thousand Muslims were put to death and double the number compelled to renounce their religion.

Between 1609 and 1614 the Moriscos were expelled from Spain. They were to depart 'under the pain of death and confiscation, without trial or sentence... to take with them no money, bullion, jewels or bills of exchange... just what they could carry.'

I Balcani

Mass grave where events of the Srebrenica massacre of Bosnian Muslims unfolded

As the Ottoman Empire entered a permanent phase of decline in the late 17th century it was engaged in a protracted state of conflict, losing territories both in Europe and the Caucasus. The victors were the Christian States, the old Habsburg and Romanov Empires and the new nation-states of Greece, Serbia, Romania and Bulgaria. Rival European powers encouraged the development of nationalist ideologies among the Ottoman subjects in which the Muslims were portrayed as an ethnic “fifth column” leftover from a previous era that could not be integrated into the planned future states. The struggle to rid them selves of Ottomans became an important element of the self-identification of the Balkan Christians.

According to Mark Levene, the Victorian public in the 1870s paid much more attention to the massacres and expulsions of Christians than to massacres and expulsions of Muslims, even if on a greater scale. He further suggests that such massacres were even favored by some circles. Mark Levene also argues that the dominant powers, by supporting "nation-statism" at the Congress of Berlin, legitimized "the primary instrument of Balkan nation-building": ethnic cleansing. Hall points out that atrocities were committed by all sides during the Balkan conflicts. Deliberate terror was designed to instigate population movements out of particular territories. The aim of targeting the civilian population was to carve ethnically homogeneous countries.

Justin McCarty estimates that between 1821 and 1922 around five and a half million Muslims were driven out of Europe and five million more were killed or died of disease and starvation while fleeing. Cleansing occurred as a result of the Serbian and Greek independence in the 1820s and 1830s, the Russo-Turkish War 1877-1878, and culminating in the Balkan Wars 1912-1913. Mann describes these acts as “murderous ethnic cleansing on stupendous scale not previously seen in Europe” referring to the 1914 Carnegie Endowment report. It is estimated that at the turn of the 20th century there were 4,4 million Muslims living in the Balkan zone of Ottoman control. More than one million Muslims left the Balkans in the last three decades of the 19th century. Between 1912 and 1926 nearly 2.9 million Muslims were either killed or forced to emigrate to Turkey.

Between 10,000 and 30,000 Turks were killed in Tripolitsa by Greek rebels in the summer of 1821, including the entire Jewish population of the city. Similar events as these occurred also elsewhere during the Greek Revolution resulting in the eradication and expulsion of virtually the entire Turkish population of the Morea. These acts ensured the ethnic homogenization of the area under the rule of the future modern Greek state. In 1830 the Muslims population in Morea is put at 300,000. In 1878 the Muslim inhabitants in Thessaly are estimated to be 150,000 and in 1897 the Muslims numbered 50,000 in Crete. By 1919 there were virtually no Muslims left in Morea and Thessaly and only 20,000 in Crete.

In the Bulgarian insurgency of the April Uprising in 1876 an estimate of 1,000 Muslims were killed. During the Russo-Turkish War a significant number of Turks were either killed, perished or became refugees. There are different estimates about the casualties of the war. Crampton describes an exodus of 130,000-150,000 expelled of which approximately half returned for an intermediary period encouraged by the Congress of Berlin. Hupchick and McCarthy point out that 260,000 perished and 500,000 became refugees. The Turkish scholars Karpat and Ipek argue that up to 300,000 were killed and 1 - 1.5 million were forced to emigrate.

Massacres against Turks and Muslims during the Balkan Wars in the hands of Bulgarians, Greeks and Armenians are described in detail in the 1912 Carnegie Endowment report. Hupchick estimates that nearly 1,5 million Muslims died and 400,000 became refugees as a result of the Balkan Wars. The Bulgarian violence during the Balkan War included burning of villages, transforming mosques into churches, rape of women and mutilation of bodies. It is estimated that 220,000 Pomaks were forcefully Christianized and forbidden to bear Islamic religious clothing.

Bulgaria

1.5 million Muslims used to live in Bulgaria before Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878). After the Turkish defeat, the Russian army along with irregular troops that included Cossacks entered Bulgaria and carried out massacres and deportations against Muslim people with the aid of the Bulgarians. Half a million Muslims succeeded in going to Ottoman controlled lands and 672.215 Muslim were reported to have remained after the war in Bulgaria. Approximately a quarter of a million Muslims perished from massacres, cold, disease and other harsh conditions. "I can come to no other conclusion but that the Russians are carrying out a fixed policy exterminating the Moslem race". According to Aubaret, the French Consul in Ruse in 1876 in the Danube Vilayet alone there were 1,120,000 Muslims and 1,233,500 non-Muslims of whom 1,150,000 were Bulgarian. Between 1876 and 1878, through massacres, epidemics, hunger and war a large portion of the Turkish population vanished. Turkish flow to Anatolia continued in a steady pattern depending on the policies of the ruling regimes until 1925 after which immigration was regulated. During the 20th century Bulgaria also practiced forced deportations and expulsions, which also targeted the Muslim Pomak population.

In 1989, 310,000 Turks left Bulgaria, many under pressure as a result of the communist Zhivkov regime's assimilation campaign (though up to a third returned before the end of the year). That program, which began in 1984, forced all Turks and other Muslims in Bulgaria to adopt Bulgarian names and renounce all Muslim customs. The motivation of the 1984 assimilation campaign is unclear; however, some experts believe that the disproportion between the birth rates of the Turks and the Bulgarians was a major factor. During the name-changing phase of the campaign, Turkish towns and villages were surrounded by army units. Citizens were issued new identity cards with Bulgarian names. Failure to present a new card meant forfeiture of salary, pension payments, and bank withdrawals. Birth or marriage certificates would be issued only in Bulgarian names. Traditional Turkish costumes were banned; homes were searched and all signs of Turkish identity removed. Mosques were closed. According to estimates, 500 to 1,500 people were killed when they resisted assimilation measures, and thousands of others were imprisoned or sent to labor camps or were forcibly resettled.

Genocidio in Bosnia

The Manjača concentration camp where Bosnian Muslim men were detained in 1992.

Although religious and ethnic strife has flared in the Balkans for centuries, modern persecution of Muslims occurred during the Yugoslav Wars. Wars in which numerous Bosniaks were beaten, tortured, sexually assaulted and ethnically cleansed. Both Serb and Croat Christians destroyed Bosniak communities, while fighting each other. Although some Serbs and Croats claimed that the persecutions were not religious in nature, their brutal focus on religious buildings and symbols belie those claims. In addition to denying persecution of Muslims, Serbs said it was "part of a war" as their excuse. In any case, it was both ethnic and religious cleansing. Virtually all traces of Bosniak presence and culture in the area were wiped out during the Foča massacres. Almost no Bosniaks remained in Foča. All mosques in the city were destroyed. On 22 April 1992, Serbs blew up the Aladža Mosque - one of the most famous mosques in the Balkans. Eight more mosques, from the 16th and 17th centuries, were also damaged or fully destroyed. On January 1994, the Serb authorities renamed Foča “Srbinje” (in serbo Србиње^?), literally meaning "place of the Serbs" (from Srbi Serbs and -nje which is a Slavic locative suffix). Bosniak (Bosnian Muslim) women were raped by the Serbs as spoils of war and to show superiority and victory over the Bosniaks. For instance, the girls and women selected by the later convicted war criminal Dragoljub Kunarac or by his men, were systematically taken to the soldiers’ base, a house located in Osmana Đikić street no 16. There, the women and girls (some as young as 14) were repeatedly raped. Serb soldiers regularly took Muslim girls from various detention centres and kept them as sex slaves.

Russian Empire

Russian soldier menacing a Muslim family.

The period from the conquest of Kazan in 1552 to the ascension of Catherine the Great in 1762, was marked by systematic repression of Muslims through policies of exclusion and discrimination as well as the destruction of Muslim culture by elimination of outward manifestations of Islam such as mosques. The Russians initially demonstrated a willingness in allowing Islam to flourish as Muslim clerics were invited into the various region to preach to the Muslims, particularly the Kazakhs whom the Russians viewed as "savages" and "ignorant" of morals and ethics. However, Russian policy shifted toward weakening Islam by introducing pre-Islamic elements of collective consciousness. Such attempts included methods of eulogizing pre-Islamic historical figures and imposing a sense of inferiority by sending Kazakhs to highly elite Russian military institutions. In response, Kazakh religious leaders attempted to bring religious fervor by espousing pan-Turkism, though many were persecuted as a result.

While total expulsion as in other Christian nations such as Spain, Portugal and Sicily was not feasible to achieve a homogenous Russian Orthodox population, other policies such as land grants and the promotion of migration by other Russian and non-Muslim populations into Muslim lands displaced many Muslims making them minorities in places such as some parts of the South Ural region to other parts such as the Ottoman Turkey, and almost annihilating the Circassians, Crimean Tatars, and various Muslims of the Caucasus. The Russian army rounded up people, driving Muslims from their villages to ports on the Black Sea, where they awaited ships provided by the neighboring Ottoman Empire. The explicit Russian goal was to expel the groups in question from their lands. They were given a choice as to where to be resettled: in the Ottoman Empire or in Russia far from their old lands. Only a small percentage (the numbers are unknown) accepted resettlement within the Russian Empire. The trend of Russification has continued at different paces in the rest of Tsarist and Soviet periods, so that today there are more Tatars living outside the Republic of Tatarstan than inside it.

Azerbaijan

Azerbaijanis were exposed to genocide many times in twentieth century.During March Days in 1918 12.000 Azerbaijanis were massacred by Armenians.According to the Memorial Human Rights Center, Human Rights Watch and other international observers, Azerbaijani citizens, including women and children, were massacred by ethnic Armenian armed forces, reportedly with help of the Russian 366th Motor Rifle Regiment during the Khojaly Massacre. The Khojaly Massacre was described by Human Rights Watch as "the largest massacre to date in the conflict" over Nagorno-Karabakh. Memorial, the Moscow-based human rights group, stated in their report that the mass killing of civilians in Khojaly could not be justified under any circumstances and that actions of Armenian militants were in gross violation of a number of basic international human rights conventions.

Situazione attuale

IIslamofobia in Europa

Rapporto EUMC

Il più grande progetto di monitoraggio commissionato sull'islamofobia fu intrapreso, a seguito degli attentati dell'11 settembre 2001, dall'European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia (EUMC). Il rapporto del maggio 2002: Summary report on Islamophobia in the EU after 11 September 2001, scritto da Chris Allen e Jorgen S. Nielsen dell'Università di Birmingham è basato su 75 relazioni: 15 da ciascuna nazione dell'Unione europea.

Il rapporto ha evidenziato la frequenza con la quale i normali musulmani sono divenuti bersaglio di atti di ritorsione offensivi e talvolta violenti dopo il 9/11. Nonostante le differenze localizzate all'interno di ogni paese membro, il ripetersi di attacchi verso tratti riconoscibili e visibili dell'islam e dei musulmani è stata la scoperta più significativa della relazione. Gli attacchi hanno assunto varie forme: offesa verbale, incolpare tutti i musulmani per gli attacchi terroristici, donne cui viene strappato lo hijab dalla testa, sputare a musulmani sia di sesso maschile che femminile, bambini che vengono chiamati "Usama" e violente aggressioni casuali che mandano le vittime in ospedale e, in una occasione, l'ha lasciata paralizzata.

La relazione ha inoltre analizzato come i mussulmani vengono rappresentati dai media. Negatività intrinseche, immagini stereotipate, rappresentazioni fantastiche e caricature esagerate sono state tutte identificate. La relazione conclude che "una sempre maggiore ricettività verso idee e sentimenti anti-musulmani e xenofobi sta, e potrebbe continuare, a diventare più tollerato."

The report concluded that "a greater receptivity towards anti-Muslim and other xenophobic ideas and sentiments has, and may well continue, to become more tolerated.=

Since the Collapse of the Soviet Union

Due to large activity of Islamic terrorism in Russia: Budyonnovsk hospital hostage crisis with 129 victims, Kizlyar hospital hostage crisis with 100 victims, Ferry hijacking, Moscow theater hostage crisis with 129 victims, Riyadus-Salikhin's bombing in Moscow and Yessentuki with 47 victims, Beslan school hostage crisis with 385 children victims, Russian apartment bombings with 300 victims carried by Muslim society and the growth of Tajik Organized crime, many Russians (including authorities) have associated Islam and Muslims with terrorism and domestic crimes. In August 2007 a video of 2 ethnic Russian neo-Nazis beheading two Muslim men, one from Dagestan in the Caucasus and one from Tajikistan appeared on the internet. In February 2004, a nine-year old Tajik girl was stabbed to death in Saint Petersburg by suspected far-right skinheads.. In December 2008 an email, containing a picture of the severed head of a man identified as Salekh Azizov , was sent to the Moscow Human Rights Bureau. It was sent by a group called Russian Nationalists' Combat Group and has led to protests from the Tajik Government. Despite these facts with large resonance the quantity of victims between Tajik immigrants is 2 time less than average quantity of victims per million inhabitants in Russia in 2008.

Stalinist persecution of Muslims

The USSR was hostile to all forms of religion, which was "the opium of the masses" according to Karl Marx. Many Muslim regions of the Soviet Union, like other non-ethnic Russian regions, were subjected to intense russification. Many mosques were closed. During Stalin's reign, Crimean Tatar Muslims were victims of mass deportation. However, the deportation was not religious persecution, it was officially based on the facts of Collaborationism during the Nazi occupation of Crimea. The deportation had begun on 17 May 1944 in all Crimean inhabited localities. More than 32,000 NKVD troops participated in this action. 193,865 Crimean Tatars were deported, 151,136 of them to Uzbek SSR, 8,597 to Mari ASSR, 4,286 to Kazakh SSR, the rest 29,846 to the various oblasts of RSFSR.

From May to November 10,105 Crimean Tatars died of starvation in Uzbekistan (7% of deported to Uzbek SSR). Nearly 30,000 (20%) died in exile during the year and a half by the NKVD data and nearly 46% by the data of the Crimean Tatar activists. According to Soviet dissident information, many Crimean Tatars were made to work in the large-scale projects conducted by the Soviet GULAG system.

Persecuzioni di musulmani in Cina

Genocidio dei Dungani

La rivolta dei Dungani scoppiò a causa di lotte intestine tra diverse sette musulmane sufi, il Khafiya e la Jahariyya, e la Gedimu (una scuola hanafita, non sufi, della tradizione sunnita).

Quando la ribellione fallì, seguì una migrazione di massa del popolo Dungani nell'Impero russo, Kazakhstan e Kirghizistan. Prima della guerra, la popolazione della provincia dello Shaanxi raggiungeva approssimativamente i 13 milioni di abitanti, almeno 1.750.000 dei quali erano Dungani (Hui). Dopo la guerra, la popolazione era scesa a 7 milioni; almeno 150.000 fuggirono. Xi'an, la capitale della provincia dello Shaanxi, era la Città Santa dei Dungani (Hui) in Cina prima della rivolta. Ma la un tempo fiorente comunità dei musulmani cinesi si ridusse del 93% a seguito dell rivolta nella provincia dello Shaanxi. Tra il 1648 ed il 1878, circa dodici milioni di cinesi Hui ed Han furono uccisi in dieci, non riuscite, sollevazioni. Le rivolte furono duramente represse dal governo Manchu in un modo che equivale a un genocidio.

Nella ribellione dei Panthay furono circa un milione le persone uccise e diversi milioni nella rivolta dei Dungani seguendo la politica di "lavare via i musulmani" (洗回 (xi Hui)) che fu per lungo tempo perseguita dai funzionari governativi Manciù. Molti generali cinesi musulmani, come Ma Zhanao, Ma Anliang, Ma Qianling, Dong Fuxiang, Ma Haiyan e Ma Julung aiutarono la dinastia Qing a sconfiggere i ribelli musulmani e furono per questo ricompensati, ed i loro seguaci risparmiati dal genocidio. Iln generale dei Qing Zuo Zongtang, di etnia Han, arrivò a trasferire gli Han dalla periferia di Hezhou per ricompensare i musulmani che si erano arresi, ed ai quali fu concessa un'amnistia ed il permesso di restare finché fossero rimasti fuori dalla città. Alcuni dei musulmani, come il generale Dong, non combatterono perché erano musulmani ma piuttosto, come molti altri generali, essi radunarono bande di seguaci e presero parte ai combattimenti perseguendo interessi personali.

I musulmani di altre parti della Cina, in particolare delle province orientali e meridionali che non si rivoltarono, non furono influenzati in alcun modo dalla ribellione, non subirono genocidi né cercarono di ribellarsi. Risulta che i villaggi musulmani nella provincia dello Henan, che si trova accanto allo Shaanxi, rimasero totalmente estranei alla rivolta dei Dungani e le relazioni tra Han e Hui proseguirono normalmente. Musulmani provenienti dalla Cina orientale come Ma Xinyi continuarono a servire al governo cinese durante la rivolta, ignorando i musulmani del nord-ovest della Cina.

I musulmani cinesi (Dungani) parteciparono anche agli attacchi contro gli Uiguri. Diversi generali cinesi musulmani disertarono dalla dinastia Qing e aiutarono le forze cinesi che attaccarono gli Uiguri nello Xinjiang. Cui Wei e Hua Decai guidarono ognuno una delle "Diciotto Divisioni Shaanxi" di truppe musulmane ribelli che, dopo essersi ritirate dallo Shaanxi, continuarono a combattere i Qing nel Gansu. Dei diciotto leader di queste divisioni, sei furono uccisi, undici compresi Cui Wei e Hua Decai si arresero ai Qing e uno, Bai Yanhu, trovò riparo nell'Impero russo. Dopo la resa, Cui Wei e Hua Decai condussero l'attacco dei Qing a molte delle città fortificate dello Xinjiang orientale e meridionale.

East Turkistan and the Uyghurs

Many Uiguri are forced to assimilate to a Han Chinese way of life and feel threatened by the spread of Han Chinese culture. In Xinjiang, school instruction is in Mandarin and very few pieces of literature are published in Uyghur or other Turkic languages . The Chinese government gives economic incentives for Han Chinese to settle in Xinjiang .

Many Uyghurs face religious persecution and discrimination at the hands of the government authorities. Uyghurs who choose to practice their faith can only use a state-approved version of the Koran ; men who work in the state sector cannot wear beards and women cannot wear headscarves . The Chinese state controls the management of all mosques, which many Uyghurs claim stifles religious traditions that have formed a crucial part of the Uyghur identity for centuries. Children under the age of 18 are not allowed to attend religious services at mosques.

Buddhist persecution of Muslims

Mongol persecution of Muslims

Site where the Mongol ruler Hulegu Khan destroyed a Baghdad mosque during the sack of Baghdad.

Following the brutal Mongol invasion of Central Asia under Genghis Khan and after the sack of Baghdad, the Mongol Empire's rule extended across most Muslim lands in Asia. The Abbasid caliphate was destroyed and Islamic civilization, especially Mesopotamia, suffered much devastation and was replaced by Buddhism as the official religion of the land, since this was the Mongols' faith. However it is important to note that the Mongols attacked people for goods and riches, not because the religion was Islam. Many later Mongol khans and rulers became Muslims themselves like Oljeitu and other Ilkhanid and Golden Horde rulers and inhabitants. There was no real effort to replace Islam with any other religion, but to plunder goods from anyone that didn't submit, which is a characteristic of Mongol warfare. Also the religion of the Mongols at the time were mostly Shamanism. Also during the Yuan Dynasty that the Mongols founded, Muslim scientists were highly regarded and Muslim beliefs were respected in Yuan Dynasty. On the Mongol attacks, the Muslim historian, ibn al-Athir lamented:

«I shrank from giving a recital of these events on the account of their magnitude and abhorrence. Even now I come reluctant to the task, for who would deem it a light thing to sing the death song of Islam and the Muslims or find it easy to tell this tale? O that my mother had not given me birth!»

Among the detailed atrocities include:

• The Grand Library of Baghdad, containing countless precious historical documents and books on subjects ranging from medicine to astronomy, was destroyed. Survivors said that the waters of the Tigris ran black with ink from the enormous quantities of books flung into the river.
• Citizens attempted to flee, but were intercepted by Mongol soldiers who killed with abandon. Martin Sicker writes that close to 90,000 people may have died (Sicker 2000, p. 111). Other estimates go much higher. Wassaf claims the loss of life was several hundred thousand. Ian Frazier of The New Yorker says estimates of the death toll have ranged from 200,000 to a million.
• The Mongols looted and then destroyed mosques, palaces, libraries, and hospitals. Grand buildings that had been the work of generations were burned to the ground.
• The caliph was captured and forced to watch as his citizens were murdered and his treasury plundered. According to most accounts, the caliph was killed by trampling. The Mongols rolled the caliph up in a rug, and rode their horses over him, as they believed that the earth was offended if touched by royal blood. All but one of his sons were killed, and the sole surviving son was sent to Mongolia.
• Hulagu had to move his camp upwind of the city, due to the stench of decay from the ruined city.

At the intervention of the Mongol Hulagu's Nestorian Christian wife, Dokuz Khatun, the Christian inhabitants were spared. Hulagu offered the royal palace to the Nestorian Catholicos Mar Makikha, and ordered a cathedral to be built for him. Ultimately, the seventh ruler of the Ilkhanate dynasty Mahmud Ghazan converted to Islam from Buddhism, and thus began the gradual trend of the decline of Buddhism in the region and renaissance of Islam. Later, three of the four principal Mongol khanates later embraced Islam.

Persecution of Muslims in Myanmar

Myanmar has a Buddhist majority. The Muslim minority in Myanmar mostly consists of the Rohingya people and the descendants of Muslim immigrants from India (including what is now Bangladesh) and China (the ancestors of Chinese Muslims in Myanmar came from the Yunnan province), as well as descendants of earlier Arab and Persian settlers. Indian Muslims were brought to Burma by the British to aid them in clerical work and business. After independence, many Muslims retained their previous positions and achieved prominence in business and politics.

Buddhist persecution of Muslims arose from religious reasons, and occurred during the reign of King Bayinnaung, 1550-1589 AD. After conquering Bago in 1559, the Buddhist King prohibited the practice of halal, specifically, killing food animals in the name of God. He was religiously intolerant, forcing some of his subjects to listen to Buddhist sermons possibly converting by force. He also disallowed the Eid Adha, religious sacrifice of cattle. Halal food was also forbidden by King Alaungpaya in the 18th century.

When General Ne Win swept to power on a wave of nationalism in 1962, the status of Muslims changed for the worse. Muslims were expelled from the army and were rapidly marginalized. Muslims are stereotyped in the society as "cattle killers" (referring to the cattle sacrifice festival of Eid Al Adha in Islam). The generic racist slur of "Kala" (black) used against perceived "foreigners" has especially negative connotations when referring to Burmese Muslims. The more pious Muslim communities which segregate themselves from the Buddhist majority face greater difficulties than those Muslims who integrate more at the cost of not observing Islamic personal laws.

Muslims in Myanmar are affected by the actions of Islamic Fundamentalists in other countries. Violence in Indonesia perpetrated by Islamists is used as a pretext to commit violence against Muslim minorities in Burma. The anti-Buddhist actions of the Taliban in Afghanistan (the destruction of the Buddhas of Bamiyan) was also used as a pretext to commit violence against Muslims in Myanmar by Buddhist mobs. Human Rights Watch reports that there was mounting tension between the Buddhist and Muslim communities in Taungoo for weeks before it erupted into violence in the middle of May 2001. Buddhist monks demanded that the Hantha Mosque in Taungoo be destroyed in "retaliation" for the destruction of the Buddhas of Bamiyan. Mobs of Buddhists, led by monks, vandalized Muslim owned businesses and property and attacked and killed Muslims in Muslim communities. This was followed by retaliation by Muslims against Buddhists. Human Rights Watch also alleges that Burmese military intelligence agents disguised as monks, led the mobs.

The dictatorial government, which operates a pervasive internal security apparatus, generally infiltrates or monitors the meetings and activities of virtually all organizations, including religious organizations. Religious freedom for Muslims is reduced. Monitoring and control of Islam undermines the free exchange of thoughts and ideas associated with religious activities.

It is widely feared that persecution of Muslims in Myanmar could foment Islamic fundamentalism in the country. Many Muslims have joined armed resistance groups that are fighting for greater freedom in Myanmar, but are not Islamic fundamentalists as such.

Persecution of Muslims in Cambodia

The Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia disproportionately targeted ethnic minority groups. The Cham, a Muslim minority who are the descendants of migrants from the old state of Champa, were forced to adopt the Khmer language and customs. Ysa Osman, a researcher at the Documentation Center of Cambodia concludes, "Perhaps as many as 500,000 died. They were considered, along with the Vietnamese, the Khmer Rouge's No. 1 enemy. The plan was to exterminate them all" because "they stood out. They worshiped their own god. Their diet was different. Their names and language were different. They lived by different rules. The Khmer Rouge wanted everyone to be equal, and when the Chams practiced Islam they did not appear to be equal. So they were punished." A Khmer Rouge order stated that henceforth “The Cham nation no longer exists on Kampuchean soil belonging to the Khmers” (U.N. Doc. A.34/569 at 9). Only about half of the Cham survived.

Hindu persecution of Muslims

In India

There were widespread riots during the Partition of British India in 1947, with attacks on Muslim minorities by Hindu and Sikh mobs. In order to facilitate the creation of new states along religious lines population exchanges between India and Pakistan were implemented, at the expense of significant human suffering in the process. A large number of people (more than a million by some estimates) died in the accompanying violence. After the annexation of the Muslim-ruled state of Hyderabad by India in 1948, about 7,000 Muslim Arabs were either due to emigrate to Pakistan at their own will or interned and deported from India. There was widespread violence against the Muslims as an aftermath of the 'Police Action' (officially Operation Polo) and Nehru had a committee investigate the pogrom against Muslims, but the resulting Sundarlal Report was never made public (an estimated 50-200,000 Muslims are believed to have been killed).

In 1992, members of the Vishva Hindu Parishad and the Bajrang Dal destroyed the 430 year old Babri Mosque in Ayodhya, on the basis of their assertion that the mosque was built over the birthplace of the Hindu deity Rama and that a Hindu temple existed at the site before the erection of the Mosque by demolishing the temple. The demolition was followed by riots in Bombay.

The Sangh Parivar family of organisations, has allegedly been involved in encouraging negative, stereotyping of Muslims, and in the 2002 Gujarat violence they were allegedly responsible for encouraging attacks against Muslims in response to the Godhra train burning allegedly by Muslims in which 60 Hindus were killed.. Subsequent riots led to the death of several hundred Muslims. Another major incident was at Naroda Patia, where a Hindu mob massacred more than 100 Muslims after an incident sparked by Muslim on Hindu violence had got out of hand. In another incident at Best Bakery, in the city of Baroda, 12 men were massacred and burnt. The Gujarat riots officially led to the death of 1044 people. Human Rights Watch puts the death toll at higher figures, with 2000 deaths, mostly with attacks against Muslims by Hindu mobs. Another 100,000 Muslims became homeless, according to the U.S. State Department's 2002 human rights report on India. About 20,000 Muslim businesses were destroyed.

Recently Hindu mobs again attacked Muslim villages after cows were claimed to have been sacrificed for the festivities of Eid. In 2005, this caused the destruction of 40 homes and 3 deaths. A police investigation revealed that no cow had been slaughtered in the village.

Despite these occasional communal tensions between the Hindus and the Muslims, they enjoy a cordial relationship between each other. A matter of note is that out of the 12 Presidents of India since Independence, three have been Muslims, even though Muslims form only 13.4% of Indian population.

Persecution of Muslims in Sri Lanka

ùThe 1990 explusion of Muslims from Sri Lanka was an act of ethnic cleansing carried out by Tamils of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) organization in October 1990. In order to achieve their goal of creating a mono ethnic Tamil state in the North Sri Lanka, the LTTE forcibly expelled the 75,000 strong Muslim population from the Northern Province. The first expulsion was in Chavakacheri, of 1,500 people. After this, Muslims in Kilinochchi and Mannar were forced many to leave their homeland. The turn of Jaffna came on 30 October 1990; when LTTE trucks drove through the streets ordering Muslim families to assemble at Osmania College. There, they were told to exit the city within two hours.

On 4 August 1990, Tamil militants massacred over 147 Muslims in a mosque in Kattankudi. The act took place when around 30 Tamil rebels raided four mosques in the town of Kattankudi, where over 300 people were prostrating during prayers.

Vedi anche

• Criptomusulmani
• Islamofobia
• Massacro di Srebrenica
• Tortura e abusi su prigionieri a Bagram

Collegamenti esterni

• Persecution of Muslims in Mecca Before Hijra
• Persecution of Muslims in Europe

Effetti delle fughe radioattive degli incidenti nucleari di Fukushima Daiichi

Grafico delle radiazioni rilasciate dall'11 al 30 marzo 2011 dalla Centrale nucleare di Fukushima Daiichi dopo il terremoto e lo tsunami di Tōhoku, in confronto con gli standard ed eventi storici. Mostra anche la serie temporale degli effetti geografici, la mappa locale del sito e la sequenza delle notizie.

Gli effetti elle fughe radioattive causate dagli incidenti nucleari di Fukushima I sono le conseguenze del rilascio di isotopi radioattivi dalla Centrale nucleare di Fukushima Daiichi dopo il Terremoto e maremoto di Tōhoku del 2011. Dopo che lo tsunami si è abbattuto sull'impianto il materiale radioattivo è stato rilasciato in diverse occasioni, sia intenzionalmente allo scopo di ridurre la pressione, sia in maniera accidentale e non controllata. Ciò ha provocato una leggera contaminazione radioattiva dell'aria, dell'acqua potabile, del latte e di alcune colture nelle prefetture più vicino all'impianto, oltre al pesce catturato 50 miglia al largo della costa. L'acqua potabile ha superato il limite fissato per i bambini per diversi giorni nella seconda settimana dopo l'incidente. Diversi lavoratori hanno ricevuto molte dosi di oltre 100 millisievert (mSv) mentre lavoravano sul sito dell'impianto, due di loro sono stati ricoverati in ospedale con elevate esposizioni attorno alle caviglie per essere rimasti in piedi nell'acqua di raffreddamento radioattiva. É stato segnalato che il 27 marzo l'acqua all'interno delle unità 2 e 3 (ma al di fuori del contenimento) era ad un livello molto elevato, a "over 1000" e 750 mSv/h.

Sintesi giornaliera degli eventi

Radiazioni rilasciate durante le esplosioni di idrogeno a Fukushima.

11 marzo, venerdì

Le autorità giapponesi hanno comunicato che non vi era stata nessuna "fuga di radiazioni" dalle centrali elettriche.

12 marzo

Il giorno dopo il terremoto, un aumento dei livelli di iodio-131 e cesio-137 è stato segnalato sul sito dell'impianto, nei pressi dell'unità uno 1.

13 marzo

Iniziato le sfogo per scaricare la pressione a diversi reattori con conseguente rilascio di materiale radioattivo.

15 marzo

Il Segretario generale del Gabinetto del Giappone, Yukio Edano, ha comunicato che i livelli di radiazione misurati sul sito della centrale arrivavano a 30 mSv/h tra le unità due e tre, a 400 mSv/h vicino all'unità tre e tra questa e l'unità quattro e a 100 mSv/h vicino all'unità quattro. Ha detto, "non vi è dubbio che a differenza del passato, le cifre sono ad un livello al quale la salute umana può essere danneggiata." Il primo ministro Naoto Kan ha esortato le persone che vivono tra i 20 ei 30 km dall'impianto a rimanere in casa, "Il pericolo di ulteriori fughe di radiazioni [dall'impianto] è in aumento," Kan ha messo in guardia il pubblico ad una conferenza stampa, chiedendo alle persone di "agire con calma". Un portavoce dell'agenzia di sicurezza nucleare del Giappone ha riferito che la TEPCO ha affermato che i livelli di radiazione a Ibaraki, tra Fukushima e Tokyo, era salito ma che non rappresenta un rischio per la salute. Edano ha riferito che il dosaggio medio di radiazioni durante tutta la giornata è stato 0.109 μSv/h. Sono state decontaminate 23 delle 150 persone che vivono in prossimità dell'impianto sottoposte a test

16 marzo, mercoledì

Il personale della centrale elettrica è stato evacuato per breve tempo dopo che del fumo è salito sopra l'impianto ed i livelli delle radiazioni misurate al cancello sono aumentato a 10 mSv/h. I media hanno segnalato 1.000 mSv/h vicino all'impianto danneggiato, con i livelli di radiazione in seguito ridiscesi a 800-600 mSv. Il Ministero della difesa giapponese ha criticato l'agenzia per la sicurezza nucleare e la TEPCO dopo che alcune sue truppe sono probabilmente state esposte a radiazioni mentre lavoravano sul sito. 20 km. a nord-ovest della centrale il ministero della scienza giapponese (MEXT) ha rilevato livelli di radiazione fino a 0,33 mSv/h. la Commissione per la sicurezza nucleare del Giappone ha raccomandato alle autorità locali di indicare agli sfollati dall'area di 20 chilometri di ingerire iodio stabile (non radioattivo).

17 marzo

Il monitoraggio delle radiazioni, effettuato su 47 città dalla IAEA, ha mostrato che il livello di radiazione a Tokyo non è aumentato. Anche se in alcune località a circa 30 km. dallo stabilimento di Fukushima la dose assorbita è aumentata in modo significativo nelle precedenti 24 ore (in una località da 80 a 170 μSv/h e in un altro punto da 26 a 95 μSv/h), i livelli variano secondo la posizione rispetto all'impianto. Spinaci coltivati ​​a cielo aperto circa 75 chilometri a sud della centrale nucleare hanno elevati livelli di iodio e cesio radioattivi.

18 marzo

La IAEA ha chiarito che, contrariamente a vari notizie circolate, la IAEA non ha ricevuto alcuna notifica da parte delle autorità giapponesi su persone ammalate a causa della contaminazione radioattiva.

19 marzo

Secondo il MEXT sono state rilevate tracce di sostanze radioattive nell'acqua dei rubinetti a Tokyo e nelle prefetture di Tochigi, Gunma, Chiba e Saitamas. Il ministero giapponese della sanità, del lavoro e del welfare ha annunciato che livelli di radiazione superiori ai limiti di legge sono state rilevate nel latte prodotto nella zona di Fukushima e in alcuni ortaggi a Ibaraki. Le misurazioni effettuate dal Giappone in varie località hanno evidenziato la presenza di radionuclidi come iodio-131 (I-131) e cesio-137 (Cs-137) sul terreno.

23 marzo

Il MEXT rilasciato nuovi dati ambientali. Letture di radioattività su campioni di suolo ed acqua stagnante sono stati più elevate in un sito 40 km. a nord-ovest dell'impianto. Il 19 marzo, il terreno ad alta quota conteneva 28,1 kBq/kg di Cs-137 e 300 kBq/kg di I-131. Un giorno più tardi, queste stessi dati erano 163 kBq/kg di Cs-137 e 1.170 kBq/kg di I-131. 163 kBq/kg di Cs-137 è pari a 3.260 kBq/m².

24 marzo

Tre operai sono stati esposti a elevati livelli di radiazione e due di loro hanno fatto ricorso a cure ospedaliere, dopo che acqua radioattiva è filtrata attraverso i loro indumenti protettivi mentre lavoravano all'unità tre.

25 marzo, venerdì

Il Ministero dell’Ambiente tedesco ha annunciato che piccole quantità di iodio radioattivo sono state rilevato in tre luoghi nell'atmosfera.

26 marzo

L'agenzia per la sicurezza nucleare del Giappone ha comunicato che le radiazioni di iodio-131 nell'acqua di mare presso lo scarico era aumentato fino a 1.850 volte il limite.

27 marzo

Livelli "over 1000" (il limite superiore del dispositivo di misurazione) e 750 mSv/h sono stati rilevati nell'acqua all'interno dell'unità due (ma al di fuori della struttura di contenimento) e tre, rispettivamente. Una dichiarazione che questo livello è "dieci milioni di volte il livello normale" nell'unità due è stata in seguito ritrattata ed attribuita ad una errata valutazione della radioattività dello iodio-134, piuttosto che a un elemento con vita più a lunga. L'Agenzia per la sicurezza Nucleare ed Industriale del Giappone ha precisato che "il livello delle radiazioni è maggiore di 1.000 millisievert. É certo che è originato da fissione atomica [...] Ma non siamo sicuri di come provenga dal reattore."

29 marzo, martedì

Il livello dello iodio-131 nell'acqua di mare, 330 m. a sud dello sbocco di uno scarico principale, ha raggiunto 138 Bq/ml (3,355 volte il limite legale).

30 marzo

Lo iodio-131 in mare, a sud di uno scarico dell'impianto, ha raggiunto una concentrazione di 180 Bq/ml 330 m., 4.385 volte il limite legale. Rilevazioni di 3,7 MBq/m². di Cs-137 hanno indotto l'IAEA a dichiarare che i suoi criteri per l'evacuazione sono stati superati nel villaggio di Iitate, al di fuori degli attuali 30 km. della zona di esclusione per radiazione.

31 marzo

La IAEA ha rettificato il valore di 20 milioni di Bq/m² di iodio-131 che era stato rilevato nel villaggio di Iitate. Il valore annunciato in una conferenza stampa è circa 2 milioni di Bq/m².

1 aprile, venerdì

Sono stati segnalati livelli superiori al limite legale di iodio-131 e/o di cesio 134 e cesio-137 oltre che in ortaggi a foglia e prezzemolo, anche nel manzo.

3 aprile

Funzionari sanitari hanno rilevato sostanze radioattive superiori ai limiti di legge nei funghi. Il governo giapponese ha dichiarato pubblicamente che si aspetta che i rilasci di materiali radioattivi continuino per "mesi" ipotizzando che siano adottate normali misure di contenimento.

4/10 aprile

La TEPCO ha annunciato che scaricherà 9.100 tonnellate di acqua, che supera di 100 volte il limite di contaminazione, da un impianto di trattamento delle acque reflue, l'operazione durerà 6 giorni.

5 aprile

Pesce con radioattività superiore ai livelli di sicurezza pescato 50 miglia al largo della costa giapponese.

15 aprile

Il livello di iodio-131 misurato nell'acqua di mare ha superato di 6.500 volte il limite legale, mentre i livelli di cesio-134 e cesio-137 sono aumentati di circa quattro volte, forse a causa di installazione di piastre in acciaio destinato a ridurre la dispersione di materiale radioattivo nell'oceano.

21 aprile

Il governo giapponese ha vietato l'accesso alla zona attorno alla centrale di Fukushima, a causa dell'alto livello di radiazioni, finora le autorità si erano limitate ad invitare la popolazione a lasciare l'area di venti chilometri attorno alla centrale.

Emissioni

Sono stati rilasciati, principalmente, nuclidi radioattivi di iodio e cesio. Questi elementi sono stati liberati nell'aria dal vapore e nell'acqua penetrata nelle falde acquifere o dispersa nell'oceano. L'esperto che ha preparato un rapporto del Servizio meteorologico austriaco frequentemente citato ha affermato che nell'"incidente di Chernobyl vi è stata un'emissione molto maggiore di radioattività e con una più ampia varietà di elementi radioattivi di quanto accaduto finora a Fukushima Daiichi, ma furono iodio e cesio la causa della maggior parte dei rischi per la salute - soprattutto nell'area immediatamente al di fuori della centrale di Chernobyl." Lo iodio-131 ha un tempo di dimezzamento di 8 giorni, mentre il cesio-137 ha un tempo di dimezzamento di oltre 30 anni. La IAEA ha sviluppato un metodo che misura l'"equivalenza radiologica" di elementi diversi. La TEPCO ha pubblicato stime usando il metodo della semplice somma e utilizzando la metodologia di ponderazione IAEA. Dal 25 aprile la TEPCO non ha pubblicato una stima totale delle emissioni in acqua e nell'aria.

Contaminazione nell'aria

un rapporto del 12 aprile preparata dal NISA stima il rilascio totale in aria di iodio-131 e cesio-137 a tra i 370 PBq e 630 PBq, combinando iodio e cesio secondo la metodologia IAEA. Il 23 aprile l'NSC ha aggiornato le sue stime delle emissioni, ma non ha ripetuto la stima della liberazione totale, dando invece indicazione che 154 TBq di rilascio dell'aria si verificavano quotidianamente, come il 5 aprile.

Iodio-131

As of 12 April, NISA and NSC estimated the total release of iodine-131 at 130,000 TBq and 150,000 TBq, respectively. The Central Institute for Meteorology and Geodynamics in Austria estimated the total emissions of iodine-131 from 12 to 15 March at 400,000 TBq, about 22% of the emissions from Chernobyl, which for Template:SimpleNuclide2 is estimated at 1,800,000 TBq.

Cesio-137

The emissions of caesium-137 during the first four days were estimated at 33,000 TBq, about 50% of the emissions from Chernobyl. American monitoring suggests that Fukushima has been averaging 5,000 TBq of caesium-137 per day. Over the course of the disaster, Chernobyl put out a total of 85,000 TBq of caesium-137. While Chernobyl is inland, much of the Fukushima fallout has blown out to to sea where it will be diffused to safe levels.

The total release up to 12 April has been estimated by NISA and NSC to be 6100 and 12,000 TBq, respectively.

Iodine-131 has a half-life of 8 days while caesium-137 has a half life of over 30 years.

Radiation at the plant site

[[:File:FukushimaI rad long term prequake.PNG|thumb|Normal radiation dose rates at the Fukushima I site as established by the stream of monitoring post readings in the 3 months preceding the accident. (03/01=1 March 2011, 1 Gray= 1 Sv for gamma radiation)]] Radiation fluctuated widely on the site after the tsunami and often correlated to fires and explosions on site. Radiation dose rates at one location between reactor units 3 and 4 was measured at 400 mSv/h at 10:22 JST, 13 March, causing experts to urge rapid rotation of emergency crews as a method of limiting exposure to radiation. Dose rates of 1,000 mSv/h were reported (but not confirmed by the IAEA) close to the certain reactor units on 16 March, prompting a temporary evacuation of plant workers, with radiation levels subsequently dropping back to 800–600 mSv/h. At times, radiation monitoring was hampered by a belief that some radiation levels may be higher than 1 Sv/h, but that "authorities say 1,000 millisieverts [per hour] is the upper limit of their measuring devices."

Exposure of workers

Prior to the accident, the maximum permissible dose for Japanese nuclear workers was 100 mSv per year, but on 15 March 2011, the Japanese Health and Labor Ministry increased that annual limit to 250 mSv, for emergency situations. This level is below the 500 mSv/year considered acceptable for emergency work by the World Health Organization. Some contract companies working for TEPCO have opted not to use the higher limit. On 15 March, TEPCO decided to work with a skeleton crew (in the media called the Fukushima 50) in order to minimize the number of people exposed to radiation.

On 17 March, IAEA reported 17 persons to have suffered deposition of radioactive material on their face; the levels of exposure were too low to warrant hospital treatment. On 22 March, World Nuclear News reported that one worker had received over 100 mSv during "venting work" at Unit 3. An additional 6 had received over 100 mSv, of which for 1 a level of over 150 mSv was reported for unspecified activities on site. On 24 March, three workers were exposed to high levels of radiation which caused two of them to require hospital treatment after radioactive water seeped through their protective clothes while working in unit 3. Based on the dosimeter values, exposures of 170 mSv were estimated, the injuries indicated exposure to 2000 to 6000 mSv around their ankles. They were not wearing protective boots, as their employing firm's safety manuals "did not assume a scenario in which its employees would carry out work standing in water at a nuclear power plant". The amount of the radioactivity of the water was about 3.9 MBq per cubic centimetre. As of 24 March, 19:30 (JST), 17 workers (of which 14 were from plant operator TEPCO) had been exposed to levels of over 100 mSv. By 29 March, the number of workers reported to have been exposed to levels of over 100 mSv had increased to 19. An American physician reported Japanese doctors have considered banking blood for future treatment of workers exposed to radiation.

TEPCO has been criticized in providing safety equipment for its workers. After NISA warned TEPCO that workers were sharing dosimeters, since most of the devices were lost in the disaster, the utility sent more to the plant. Others suggest that contract workers are given more dangerous work than TEPCO employees. TEPCO is also seeking workers willing to risk high radiation levels for short periods of time in exchange for high pay.

Radiazione all'interno del contenimento primario dei reattori

All'interno del contenimento primario dei reattori 1, 2, 3 e 4 sono stati rilevati livelli di radiazione fortemente dvariabili:

time (JST)	Reattore 1 (Sv/h)		Reattore 2 (Sv/h)		Reattore 3 (Sv/h)
	Dry Well	Wet Well (toroide)	Dry Well	Wet Well (toroide)	Dry Well	Wet Well (toroide)
17 marzo 2011, 12:50	0.00410	31.6	84.4	2.43	---	---
18 marzo 2011, 7:55-12:35	0.00375	46.9	78.0	2.37	105	5.90
20 marzo 2011, 15:00-16:00	12.0	40.0	0.625	2.13	71.7	2.00
23 marzo 2011, 9:10-14:20	48.0	29.9	50.7	1.67	60.2	1.74
24 marzo 2011, 17:00	40.9	25.8	47.4	1.36	53.3	1.45
25 marzo 2011, 10:00	38.9	24.9	45.6	1.54	51.0	1.50
25 marzo 2011, 14:00-16:30	37.1	24.5	45.2	1.54	38.8	1.31
26 marzo 2011, 9:30-10:00	35.1	23.6	43.4	1.49	36.1	1.40

Radiation outside of primary containment of the reactors

Outside of primary containment, plant radiation level measurements have also varied significantly

On 25 March, an analysis of stagnant water in the basement floor of the turbine building of Unit 1 showed heavy contamination.

Nuclide	Concentration (Bq/ml)
38Cl	1,6×106
Template:SimpleNuclide2	3,9×102
Template:SimpleNuclide2	5,2×104
Template:SimpleNuclide2	2,1×105
Template:SimpleNuclide2	1,6×105
Template:SimpleNuclide2	1,7×104
Template:SimpleNuclide2	1,8×106
Template:SimpleNuclide2	3,4×102

On 27 March, TEPCO reported stagnant water in the basement of unit 2 (inside the reactor/turbine building complex, but outside of primary containment) was measured at 1000 mSv/h or more, which prompted evacuation. Additional basement and trench area measurements indicated 60 mSv/h in unit 1, "over 1000" mSv/h in unit 2, and 750 mSv/h in unit 3. The report indicated the main source was iodine-134 with a half-life of less than an hour, which resulted in a radioactive iodine concentration 10 million times the normal value in the reactor. TEPCO later retracted its report, stating that the measurements were inaccurate and attributed the error to comparing the isotope responsible, iodine-134, to normal levels of another isotope. Measurements were then corrected stating that the iodine levels were 100,000 times the normal level. On 28 March, the erroneous radiation measurement caused TEPCO to reevaluate the software used in analysis.

Measurements within the reactor/turbine buildings, but not in the basement and trench areas, were made on 18 April. These robotic measurements indicated up to 49 mSv/h in unit 1 and 57 mSv/h in unit 3. This is substantially lower than the basement and trench readings, but still exceed safe working levels without constant worker rotation. Inside primary containment, levels are much higher.

Site contamination

On 31 March, TEPCO reported that it had measured radioactivity in the plant site groundwater which was 10,000 times the government limit. The company did not think that this radiation had spread to drinking water. NISA questioned the radioactivity measurement and TEPCO is re-evaluating it.

Discharge to seawater and contaminated sealife

Results revealed on 22 March from a sample taken by TEPCO about 100m south of the discharge channel of units 1-4 showed elevated levels of Cs-137, caesium-134 (Cs-134) and I-131. A sample of seawater taken on 22 March 330m south of the discharge channel (30 kilometers off the coast line) had elevated levels of I-131 and Cs-137. Also north of the plant elevated levels of these ions were found (as well as Cs-134, Tellurium-129 (Te-129) and Tellurium-129m (Te-129m)), although the levels were lower. Samples taken one and/or two days later contained about 80 Bq/mL of iodine-131 (1850 times the statutory limit) and 26 Bq/mL and caesium-137, most likely caused by atmospheric deposition. On 26 March (and 27 March) this level had decreased to 50 Bq/mL (11) iodine-131 and 7 &nbspBq/mL (2.9) caesium-137 (80 times the limit). The radioactivity however would "be very diluted by the time it gets consumed by fish and seaweed" according to Hidehiko Nishiyama, a senior NISA official.

Furthermore, seawater containing measurable levels of iodine-131 and caesium-137 were collected by Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC) on 22–23 March at several points 30 kilometres from the coastline iodine concentrations were "at or above Japanese regulatory limits" while caesium was "well below those limits" according to an IAEA report on 24 March.

Above the seawater, IAEA reported "consistently low" dose rates of 0.04-0.1 μSv/h on 27 March.

By 29 March iodine-131 levels in seawater 330m south of a key discharge outlet had reached 138 Bq/ml (3,355 times the legal limit) and by 30 March, iodine-131 concentrations had reached 180 Bq/ml at the same location near the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, 4,385 times the legal limit. The high levels could be linked to a feared overflow of highly radioactive water that appeared to have leaked from the unit 2 turbine building. On 15 April, I-131 radation levels were 6,500 times the legal limits. On 16 April, TEPCO began dumping zeolite, a mineral "that absorbs radioactive substances, aiming to slow down contamination of the ocean."

Seawater radionuclide concentration on 2011-03-29:

Nuclide	Concentration (Bq/cm3)	Regulatory limit (Bq/cm3)	Concentration / Regulatory Limit
Template:SimpleNuclide2	1,6×10−1	4,0×101	.0004
Template:SimpleNuclide2	1,3×102	4,0×10−2	3250
Template:SimpleNuclide2	3,1×101	6,0×10−2	517
Template:SimpleNuclide2	2,8×100	3,0×10−1	9.3
Template:SimpleNuclide2	3,2×101	9,0×10−2	356
Template:SimpleNuclide2	5,0×100	3,0×10−1	17
Template:SimpleNuclide2	2,5×100	4,0×10−1	6.3

After the detection of radioactive caesium above legal limits in Sand lances caught off the coast of Ibaraki Prefecture, the Prefecture government banned fishing of Sand lances.

Air exposure within 30 kilometers

Dose rates for locations in the Fukushima Prefecture and neighboring prefectures. *Iitate, Fukushima *Minamisōma, Fukushima *Iwaki, Fukushima *Tamura, Fukushima

thumb|Fukushima area detector readings The zone within 20 km from the plant was evacuated on 12 March, while residents on a distance up to 30 km were advised to stay indoors and were from 25 March subject to voluntary evacuation.

IAEA reported on 14 March that about 150 people in the vicinity of the plant "received monitoring for radiation levels"; 23 of these people were also decontaminated.

At a distance of 30 km (19 miles) from the site, radiation of 0.003-0.170 mSv/h was measured to the north-west on 17 March, while it was 0.001-0.005 mSv/h in other directions. Experts said exposure to this amount of radiation for 6 to 7 hours would result in absorption of the maximum level considered safe for one year. On 16 March Japan's ministry of science measured radiation levels of up to 0.33 mSv/h 20 kilometers northwest of the power plant. At some locations around 30 km from the Fukushima plant, the dose rates rose significantly in 24 hours on 16–17 March. In one location from 0.080 to 0.170 mSv/h and in another from 0.026 to 0.095  mSv/h. The levels varied according to the direction from the plant.

Normal background radiation varies from place to place but delivers a dose equivalent in the vicinity of 2.4 mSv/year, or about 0.3 µSv/h. For comparison, one chest x-ray is about 0.1 mSv. People can mitigate their exposure to radiation through a variety of protection techniques.

• 
  DOE and NNSA aerial survey of the area surrounding the plant March 17-19, 2011. NW dispersion of plume obvious. Source: [4]
• 
  Same survey single day flight revision on March 24, 2011.
• 
  Same survey performed March 24 and 26.
• 
  Broader area survey focusing on outside the 24 mile radius, from March 27 and 28.
• 
  Combination of measurements made from 30 March to 03 April

Deposition of radioactivity and effect on agricultural products

Radiation monitoring in all 47 prefectures showed strong variation, but an upward trend in 10 of them on 23 March. No deposition could be determined in 28 of them until 25 March The highest value obtained was in Ibaraki (480 Bq/m² on 25 March) and Yamagata (750 Bq/m² on 26 March) for iodine-13. For caesium-137, the highest value were in Yamagata at 150 and 1200 Bq/m² respectively.

Measurements made by Japan in a number of locations have shown the presence of radionuclides in the ground. On 19 March, upland soil levels of 8,100 Bq/kg of Cs-137 and 300,000 Bq/kg of I-131 were reported. One day later, the measured levels were 163,000 Bq/kg of Cs-137 and 1,170,000 Bq/kg of I-131.

Agricultural products

On 19 March, the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare announced that levels of radioactivity exceeding legal limits had been detected in milk produced in the Fukushima area and in certain vegetables in Ibaraki. On 21 March, IAEA indicated it confirmed that "in some areas, iodine-131 in milk and in freshly grown leafy vegetables, such as spinach and spring onions, is significantly above the levels set by Japan for restricting consumption". One day later, iodine-131 (sometimes above safe levels) and caesium-137 (always at safe levels) detection was reported in Ibaraki prefecture. On 21 March, spinach grown in open air in Kitaibaraki city in Ibaraki, around 75 kilometers south of the nuclear plant, was 24,000 Becquerel (Bq)/kg (due to radioactive iodine), 12 times more than the limit of 2,000 Bq/kg, with caesium radioactivity of 690 Bq/kg, 190 more than the limit. In four Prefectures (Ibaraki, Totigi, Gunma, Fukushima) distributing of spinach and kakina was restricted as well as milk from Fukushima. On March 23, similar restrictions were placed on more leafy vegetables (komatsuna, cabbages) and all flowerhead brassicas (like cauliflower) in Fukushima, while parsley and milk distribution was restricted in Ibaraki. On 24 March, IAEA reported that virtually all milk samples and vegetable samples taken in Fukushima and Ibaraki on 18-21 and 16–22 March respectively were above the limit. Samples from Chiba, Ibaraki and Tochigi contained in also too high levels in celery, parsley, spinach and other leafy vegetables. Samples mainly taken on 27–29 March showed concentrations of iodine-131 and/or caesium-134 and caesium-137 above the regulatory levels in certain samples of -besides the earlier reported leafy vegetables and parsley- also beef.

Drinking water

The regulatory safe level for iodine-131 and caesium-137 in drinking water in Japan are 100 Bq/kg and 200 Bq/kg respectively. The Japanese science ministry said on 20 March that radioactive substances were detected in tap water in Tokyo, as well as Tochigi, Gunma, Chiba and Saitama prefectures. Also drinking water in Tokyo, Fukushima and Ibaraki had been above regulatory limits between 16 and 21 March. On 26 March, IAEA reported that the values were now within legal limits. On March 23, Tokyo drinking water exceeded the safe level for infants, prompting the government to distribute bottled water to families with infants. Measured levels were caused by iodine-131 (I-131) and were 103, 137 and 174 Bq/l. On 24 March, iodine-131 was detected in 12 of 47 prefectures, of which the level in Tochigi was the highest at 110 Bq/kg. Caesium-137 was detected in 6 prefectures but always below 10 Bq/kg. On March 25, tap water was reported to have reduced to 79 Bq/kg and to be safe for infants in Tokyo and Chiba but still exceeded limits in Hitachi and Tokaimura. IAEA reported on 24 March that drinking water in Tokyo, Fukushima and Ibaraki had been above regulatory limits between 16 and 21 March.

Breast milk

Radioactive iodine has been found in the breast milk of women living east of Tokyo.[5]

Exposure elsewhere in Japan

thumb|right|Tokyo low-level gamma radiation with comparisons to average annual radiation intake. Based on Geiger counter measurements in Tokyo. Does not show radiation from physically transported sources, i.e. particulate matter transported in food, water, or the atmosphere. Radiation levels in Tokyo on 15 March were at one point measured at 0.809 μSv/hour although they were later reported to be at "about twice the normal level". Later, on 15 March 2011, Edano reported that radiation levels were lower and the average radiation dose rate over the whole day was 0.109 μSv/h. The wind direction on 15 March dispersed radiatioactivity away from the land and back over the Pacific Ocean. On 16 March, the Japanese radiation warning system, SPEEDI, indicated high levels of radiation would spread further than 30 km from the plant, but Japanese authorities did not relay the information to citizens because "the location or the amount of radioactive leakage was not specified at the time." From 17 March, IAEA received regular updates on radiation from 46 cities and indicated that they had remained stable and were "well below levels which are dangerous to human health". In hourly measurements of these cities until 20 March, no significant changes were reported.

On 30 March 2011, the IAEA stated that its operational criteria for evacuation were exceeded in the village of Iitate, Fukushima, 39 km north-west of Fukushima I, outside the existing 30 km radiation exclusion zone. The IAEA advised the Japanese authorities to carefully assess the situation there. The unrecovered bodies of approximately 1,000 quake and tsunami victims within the plant's evacuation zone are believed to be contaminated with dangerous levels of radiation. Experts from Kyoto University and Hiroshima University released research, on 11 April, that "soil samples has revealed that as much as 400 times the normal levels of radiation" which "could remain in communities beyond a 30-kilometer radius from the Fukushima" site.

Gamma radiation

A criticality accident such as the Tokaimura nuclear accident produces Gamma radiation. At Fukushima I, Gamma radiation was reported on 21 March at 2-160 μSv/h, much higher than the background of 0.1 μSv/h. The highest values were measured closer to the plant (16–58 km). Based on incomplete information about the 2011 Fukushima I nuclear accidents, Dr. Ferenc Dalnoki-Veress speculates that transient criticalities may have occurred there. By March 23, 2011, neutron beams had already been observed 13 times at crippled Fukushima nuke plant. While a criticality accident was not believed to account for these beams, the beams could indicate nuclear fission is occurring.

Noting that limited, uncontrolled chain reactions might occur at Fukushima I, a spokesman for the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) “emphasized that the nuclear reactors won’t explode.” Additionally, on April 15, TEPCO reported that Nuclear fuel has melted and fallen to the lower containment sections of three of the Fukushima I reactors, including reactor three. The melted material was not expected to breach one of the lower containers, causing a massive radiation release. Instead, the melted fuel was thought to have dispersed uniformly across the lower portions of the containers of reactors No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3, making the resumption of the fission process, known as a "recriticality" most unlikely.

Distribution outside Japan

Distribution by sea

On 25 March, IAEA indicated that in the long term, caesium-137 (with a half-life of 30 years) would be the most relevant isotope as far as doses was concerned and indicated the possibility "to follow this nuclide over long distances for several years." The organization also said it could take months or years for the isotope to reach "other shores of the Pacific".

On April 4, it was reported that: "Operators of Japan's crippled power plant say they will release more than 10,000 tons of contaminated water into the ocean to make room in their storage tanks for water that is even more radioactive."

Distribution by air

File:Fukushima trajectory animation for days 10 to 21 after the accident

The United Nations predicted that a the initial radiation plume from the stricken Japanese reactors would reach the United States by 18 March. Health and nuclear experts emphasized that radioactive isotopes in the plume will be very diluted, and would have extremely minor health consequences in the United States. A simulation by the Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy indicated that trace amounts of radioactivity would California and Mexico around 19 March. These predictions were tested by a worldwide network of highly sensitive radiative isotope measuring equipment, with the resulting data used to assess any potential impact to human health as well as the status of the reactors in Japan. Consequently, by 18 March radioactive fallout including isotopes of iodine-131, iodine-132, tellurium-132, iodine-133, caesium-134 and caesium-137 was detected in air filters at the University of Washington, Seattle, USA.

Due to an anticyclone south of Japan, favorable westerly winds were dominant during most of the first week of the accident, depositing most of the radioactive material out to sea and away from population centers, with some unfavorable wind directions depositing radioactive material over Tokyo. Low-pressure area over Eastern Japan gave less favorable wind directions 21–22 March. Wind shift to north takes place tuesday midnight. After the shift, the plume would again be pushed out to the sea for the next becoming days. Roughly similar prediction results are presented for the next 36 hours by the Finnish Meteorological Institute. In spite of winds blowing towards Tokyo during 21–22 March, he comments, "From what I've been able to gather from official reports of radioactivity releases from the Fukushima plant, Tokyo will not receive levels of radiation dangerous to human health in the coming days, should emissions continue at current levels."

Norwegian Institute for Air Research have continuous forecasts of the radioactive cloud and its movement. These are based on the FLEXPART model, originally designed for forecasting the spread of radioactivity from the Chernobyl disaster.

Response in other countries

Rush for iodine

Packaged potassium iodide tablets.

Fear of radiation from Japan prompted a global rush for iodine pills, including in the United States, Canada, Russia, Korea, China, Malaysia and Finland. There is a rush for iodized salt in China. A rush for iodine antiseptic solution appeared in Malaysia. WHO warned against consumption of iodine pills without consulting a doctor and also warned against drinking iodine antiseptic solution. The United States Pentagon said troops are receiving potassium iodide before missions to areas where possible radiation exposure is likely.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) says it has received reports of people being admitted to poison centres around the world after taking iodine tablets in response to fears about harmful levels of radiation coming out of the damaged nuclear power plant in Fukushima.

U.S. military

Humanitarian flight is checked for radiation at Yokota

In Operation Tomodachi, the United States Navy dispatched the aircraft carrier Template:USS and other vessels in the Seventh Fleet to fly a series of helicopter operations. A U.S. military spokesperson said that low-level radiation forced a change of course en route to Sendai. The Reagan and sailors aboard were exposed to "a month's worth of natural background radiation from the sun, rocks or soil" in an hour and the carrier was repositioned. Seventeen sailors were decontaminated after they and their three helicopters were found to have been exposed to low levels of radioactivity.

The aircraft carrier Template:USS was docked for maintenance at Yokosuka Naval Base, about 280 chilometri (170 mi) from the plant, when instruments detected radiation at 07:00 JST on 15 March. Rear Admiral Richard Wren stated that the nuclear crisis in Fukushima, 320 chilometri (200 mi) from Yokosuka, was too distant to warrant a discussion about evacuating the base. Daily monitoring and some precautionary measures were recommended for Yokosuka and Atsugi bases, such as limiting outdoor activities and securing external ventilation systems. As a precaution, the Washington was pulled out of its Yokosuka port later in the week. The Navy also stopped moving its personnel to Japan.

Isotopes of possible concern

The isotope iodine-131 is easily absorbed by the thyroid. Persons exposed to releases of I-131 from any source have a higher risk for developing thyroid cancer or thyroid disease, or both. Iodine-131 has a short half-life at approximately 8 days. Children are more vulnerable to I-131 than adults. Increased risk for thyroid neoplasm remains elevated for at least 40 years after exposure. Potassium iodide tablets prevent iodine-131 absorption. Japan's Nuclear Safety Commission recommended local authorities to instruct evacuees leaving the 20-kilometre area to ingest stable (not radioactive) iodine. CBS News reported that the number of doses of potassium iodide available to the public in Japan was inadequate to meet the perceived needs for an extensive radioactive contamination event.

Caesium-137 is also a particular threat because it behaves like potassium and is taken up by cells throughout the body. Additionally, it has a long, 30-year half-life. Cs-137 can cause acute radiation sickness, and increase the risk for cancer because of exposure to high-energy gamma radiation. Internal exposure to Cs-137, through ingestion or inhalation, allows the radioactive material to be distributed in the soft tissues, especially muscle tissue, exposing these tissues to the beta particles and gamma radiation and increasing cancer risk. Prussian blue helps the body excrete caesium-137.

Strontium-90 behaves like calcium, and tends to deposit in bone and blood-forming tissue (bone marrow). 20–30% of ingested Sr-90 is absorbed and deposited in the bone. Internal exposure to Sr-90 is linked to bone cancer, cancer of the soft tissue near the bone, and leukemia. Risk of cancer increases with increased exposure to Sr-90.

Plutonium is also present in the MOX fuel of the Unit 3 reactor and in spent fuel rods,. Officials at the International Atomic Energy Agency say the presence of MOX fuel does not add significantly to the dangers. Plutonium-239 is particularly long-lived and toxic with a half-life of 24,000 years and remains hazardous for tens of thousands of years. TEPCO confirmed finding low levels of plutonium in samples taken from five locations on 21 March and 22 March. TEPCO confirmed that "two samples out of five may be the direct result of the recent incident." Experts commented that the long-term risk associated with the plutonium is "highly dependent on the geochemistry of the particular site."

Regulatory levels

An overview for regulatory levels in Japan is shown in the table below:

-	Value	Unit	Reference	Comment
Yearly exposure of workers	250	mSv		Increased from 100
Spinach	2	Bq/g (iodine-131)		possibly a general standard for food
Spinach	0.5	Bq/g (caesium-137)		possibly a general standard for food. Increased from 0.37
Seawater (at discharge)	0.04	Bq/mL (iodine-131)
Seawater (at discharge)	0.09	Bq/mL (caesium-137)
drinking water	0.1	Bq/g (iodine-131)
drinking water	0.2	Bq/g (caesium-137)

See also

• 2011 Japanese nuclear accidents
• Lists of nuclear disasters and radioactive incidents

External links

• TEPCO News Releases, Tokyo Electric Power Company
• NISA Information update, Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency, the nuclear safety authority of Japan
• IAEA Update on Japan Earthquake, International Atomic Energy Agency