By Theodora Filis Following the tsunami and earthquake that struck Japan in March, automobile manufacturers announced they would begin testing all new vehicles for the presence of radioactive material before leaving the plant. The national radiation limit in Japan for cars being exported for sale to other countries is 0.3 microsieverts an hour. Japanese car dealers who export used vehicles, to Russia and Southeast Asia, are now having their shipments refused because of high radiation levels. Customs authorities in Russia have turned away hundreds of vehicles from used car dealers in Japan, and are now joined by Chile and Australia – both received shipments of automobiles contaminated with low levels of radiation. As testing for radiation gets tougher, car dealers in Japan are left with two choices, destroy the vehicle as the government has required, or obtain new documentation and unload the automobile to an unsuspecting Japanese buyer. Japanese automakers are taking steps to rea
It is imperative we all pay attention to the impact of our collective and personal actions on the environment. During the next decade, our global community will be unable to deal effectively with the formidable environmental challenges posed by decades of environmental mismanagement. There are many environmental issues I write about in this blog, some will scare you, and it is my hope, these articles will give you a reason to question and search for answers.