I really enjoyed our trip to the MIT nuclear reactor. Although science isn’t my best subject, and some of what the tour guide was saying went over my head, I was engaged with actually seeing what we’ve been learning about. I found it interesting that they gave us small geiger counters to measure our radiation exposure before and after we went into the area with the reactor.
I liked the fact that we got to actually go into the different elements of the reactor. The control room seemed a bit overwhelming but very important. I was interesting to see that some of the original elements of the 1970s reactor are still in use today. I liked that we got to see these elements working alongside the new elements being tested and installed today.
I really enjoyed learning about what they were doing to help cancer patients. As someone with cancer in their family, I found it fascinating to learn exactly how patients can be helped by nuclear energy.
Overall I think this was a unique experience for our class. Everything we have been learning about is in this building. I enjoyed being able to be right in the action and even see some engineers at work while we had our tour.
The Fukushima Daiichi disaster is known as the worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl. On March 11, 2011, an earthquake measuring 9.0 in magnitude triggered a tsunami to hit the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.This caused all three of the plant’s nuclear reactors to meltdown because their cores melted when the tsunami cut off power supply and their cooling system. Heat exchangers then started dumping reactor waste and decay to the ocean. There were many visible explosions caused by hydrogen gas in units 1 and 3 and a suspected explosion in unit 2 caused radiation to be released. The next day, the plant began releasing radioactive material and more than 100,000 people were evacuated from their homes to make sure that no one would be exposed to the radiation. There was possible radiation in food, water and air supply to be polluted with radiation.
I found a video from One Year Later that I found to be very interesting. It shows the affects of Fukushima and how it is still a problem even after one year.
Now almost four years later, the affects of Fukushima are still prevalent. Radiation from this disaster has spread across the ocean because of the waste that was in the sea. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has began to focus on restarting nuclear power plants and decreasing reliance on international trade. Japan is working to improve building a wall of ice. A wall of ice is the best solution to reduce the flow of radioactive water leaking from Fukushima. The wall will stop 400 tons of groundwater being containimated everyday.The project is expected to be completed by March 2015 and has costed $320 million.
Resources
1. http://www.4thmedia.org/2013/03/the-severity-of-the-fukushima-daiichi-nuclear-disaster-comparing-chernobyl-and-fukushima/
2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fukushima_Daiichi_nuclear_disaster
3. http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/Safety-and-Security/Safety-of-Plants/Fukushima-Accident/