The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster
The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster was caused by the devastating Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, which hit Japan on March 11th 2011. The nuclear plant was home to six boiling water reactors at the time of disaster. When the earthquake struck the island, water reactor #4 had previously been de-fuelled. Simultaneously, reactors numbered 5 and 6 were shutdown and reduced to a cold temperature, in preparation for usual maintenance. Reactors 1, 2 and 3 were automatically shut off after the earthquake struck. Following the standard programmed emergency procedure, computer generators then engaged in the cooling and electronic controls of the shut down reactors.
This process would be used to keep the plant active until weather subsides, but there was an encroaching Tsunami, which soon struck the plant.
The tsunami diminished the connection between the generators, (which had kicked in during the earthquake) and the reactors. The power-grid that was being used to cool the reactors, then shut down, and lead to the ultimate overheating of the reactors. Natural flooding from the earthquake kept the plant from receiving assistance from outside of the country to aid in cooling the now unattainably hot reactors.
Land up to 20 miles around the nuclear plant was affected by the reactors meltdown, and it’s following hydrogen explosions. The explosions exposed many already suffering Japanese to radiation.
Radiation has brought cancer rates up around the areas of the plant between 100 and 1,000 cases. And the land surrounding the plant has been soiled with radioactive materials, from the ground to the ocean. While the nuclear plant meltdown has been re-booted and is currently running, the effects on the people and land have been the harshest after-math.
Bibliography:
“Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Disaster.” Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 23 Jan. 2012. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fukushima_Daiichi_nuclear_disaster>.
GlobalResearch.ca – Centre for Research on Globalization. Web. 23 Jan. 2012. <http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va>.
“Fukushima Nuclear Disaster.” Ecoversity. Web. 23 Jan. 2012. <http://www.ecoversity.org/fukushima.html>.
“Explosion at Quake-hit Nuclear Plant – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation).” ABC.net.au. Web. 23 Jan. 2012. <http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-03-12/explosion-at-quake-hit-nuclear-plant/2659388>.