The Destruction Of The Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant

The Fukushima Daiichi power station was affected on March 11, 2011, by an earthquake and tsunami. The next day, leakage of radioactive materials were found. The steam was filled in the building by the core meltdown caused by dysfunction of the cooling system. Radioactive materials released into the environment, the government issued evacuations for residents within 20km

This caused reactors 1 through 3 to go into a meltdown and it created a situation where Japan was on the brink of a major environmental disaster. To fully understand the different events there will be a focus on: factors that caused the meltdown, why this did not impact the other three reactors, the consequences, who is responsible and how these incidents can be prevented in the future. Together, these elements will highlight the underlying effects of this disaster and its impact on the region. ("Fukushima Accident")

When an 9.0 magnitude earthquake rocked Japan on March 11th, 2011, it was the first of a series of horrific events that Japan would be forced to endure. Many homes, families, properties, and belongings were lost on that day. And when the tsunami rolled over the island, many believed that it was over for them. Not only had people’s lives been put in disarray and desolation, but there had not even been simple necessities available. Food. Water. Communications. And electricity. When the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant had been hit by the earthquake and tsunami, the reactors were shut down and so was the electricity. Over the course of months the reactors suffered, extreme heat, fires, hydrogen explosions, and radiation exposures. At the time,

The nuclear disaster in Fukushima occurred at fourteen forty six, Japanese time. The disaster occurred because a major magnitude nine earthquake struck North Eastern Japan and a fifteen meter high tsunami also struck the power plant (Grimston). There were eleven overall reactors that were effected by the earthquake and tsunami. Nine of the reactors cooling systems continued to work after the natural disasters occurred, but reactors one, two and three of the Fukushima Daiichi plant were terribly damaged and could not cool down the fission process. This is what lead to the one, two and three reactors to melt, causing the most detrimental damage to the global community (Grimston). Critics of the disasters say that Daiichi was not up to global nuclear safety standards because the wall the protected the plant was only stable against six meter tall tsunami waves, not the massive

Recently, the deserted Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant has been emanating an alarming amount of radiation. Kyodo of Japan Times reported that the radiation reading has reached its highest level since its emergence in March 2011 (Kyodo, 2017). As a result, there is a greater presence of air and water pollution in Fukushima that could easily spread to surrounding areas. Therefore, it seems appropriate that in an interview with the Washington Post, radio-ecology expert Tom Hinton stated Fukushima is “an area that is among the most radioactively contaminated in the world” (as cited in Andrews, 2016). This resurgence has generated conspiracy theories, false maps and, interestingly, little news coverage. While many across different continents

A huge earthquake with size of 8.9 has struck the northeastern coast of Japan on March 11, 2011. It was the fourth greatest in present recorded history. The few minutes of earthquake trigged massive tsunami, as high as thirty meters destroying 500 kilometers of Japan northeastern coast. Effect of the earthquake and tsunami incited a nuclear disaster in one of the few nuclear power plants along the eastern coast—Fukushima Daiichi, had and worked by the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO). The Fukushima Daiichi plant consolidated six nuclear reactors, three of which were in operation, with the rest encountering routine upkeep. All reactors close down successfully immediately imitating the

According to the researchers 70% of all backup generators were washed away by the tsunami, so being unable to cool itself, Fukushima’s reactors melted down. According to Synolakis, when the power plant was built, they set generators in the basement only 12 meters above

To answer the question, the author will compare and analyze the three incidents that occurred in different parts of the world, in countries with different government regulations and policy establishments, and caused by different triggers: the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant (NPP), U.S., Chernobyl NPP, Ukraine (former Soviet Union), and Fukushima Dai-ichi (Fukushima I) NPP, Japan.

On March 11th, 2011 an earthquake with a magnitude of 9.0 struck the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. The actual earthquake did minimal damage to all 4 reactors. The resulting tsunami destroyed the 16 diesel backup generators dedicated to cooling the reactors. As a result of overheating, hydrogen explosions damaged Reactors 1, 2, and 3. Reactor 4 was offline for maintenance at the time, but over 1,400 fuel rods in a stored above the reactor were exposed to air. The result was the release of approximately 370,000 terabecquerels of radiation. The situation was declared a Level 7 (major ongoing radioactive accident) by the International Atomic Energy Agency . The only other time this level has been reached was at Chernobyl in 1986.

Uranium, which is the ninety-second element on the periodic table, is a very interesting element. The radioactive uranium is used in atomic bombs. Also, people use it in what is called nuclear power, an energy source that fourteen percent of the world uses. (NPR 3) In a nuclear power plant, a process called fission that uses uranium is used to generate power. During fission, each uranium atom is bombarded by neutrons, causing each uranium atom to turn into one atom of barium, one atom of krypton, and three neutrons. These three neutrons bombard other uranium atoms, resulting in more neutrons being produced and creating a chain reaction. Each time the uranium atom split, energy is released. The leftover atoms are called nuclear waste.

The current energy sources we consume in the US are in need of a change. Dependence on the fossil fuels of oil and coal are hazardous for two important reasons: their undesirable impact on the environment and it has created the economic boom in the US. There is an agreement between the public and experts that nuclear fission is not the answer. The catastrophic meltdown of the Fukushima nuclear plant after an earthquake in Japan provides the proof. The introduction of horizontal drilling by the gas industry combined with successful development techniques of hydraulic fracturing has showcased as a solution to solve these problems altogether. We now gain access to the 100 years ' worth of energy in the form of natural gas underneath the

Then the question came up that how did the natural disaster occurred, man-made hazards with high technology, and heighten the risk to environmental health. Acceding to the Implications of the Fukushima Nuclear Disaster: Man-Made Hazards, Vulnerability Factors, and Risk to Environmental Health, first of all, the earthquake and tsunami exceeded estimations. Many international sources suggested that secondary technological is needed in order to estimate that incident. This Fukushima incident involved the first ever reactor core melt occurred by earthquake and tsunami. Since Fukushima is north part of japan by the ocean, many fish market and dealer were there, however, people started buying from them because of radiation. Radiation makes affect not only human. It is also effect environment and natural animals such as fishes. If you eat affected fish you will also get effect of radiation. The Fukushima disaster became a public debate emerge over the future desirability of nuclear power in Japan. Despite the growing anti-nuclear sentiment and concerns about the environmental risks of nuclear power, we contend that the continuing power of vested

There are currently over 435 commercial nuclear power reactors operable in 31 countries, and about 70 more reactors are under construction. According to World Nuclear Organization, fourteen of them have been classified as accidents where the public has been exposed to large amounts of radiation. The most devastating of these incidents was the core meltdown of reactor 4 at Chernobyl, better known as the Chernobyl disaster. Today, I am going to tell three things about the Chernobyl. First, I am going to tell you what the Chernobyl disaster was. Second, why the explosion happened. Lastly, what the Chernobyl was after the explosion.

Early in the morning of April 27, 1986, the world experienced its largest nuclear disaster ever (Gould 40). While violating safety protocol during a test, Reactor 4 at the Chernobyl power plant was placed in a severely unstable state, and in a matter of seconds the reactor output shot up to 120 times the rated output (Flavin 8). The resulting steam explosion tossed aside the reactor’s 1,000 ton concrete covering and released radioactive particles up to one and a half miles into the sky (Gould 38). The explosion and resulting fires caused 31 immediate deaths and over a thousand injuries, including radiation poisoning (Flavin 5). After the

On March 11th, 2011, the northern section of Japan was hit by a 9.0 magnitude earthquake, followed by a 15 meter tsunami, causing the death of over 15000 people. (Spacey) Even though the earthquake and the tsunami caused a tremendous amount of deaths in the northern region of Japan, the meltdown of the Fukushima nuclear power plant caused a severe damage to northern Japan’s ecosystem that people still cannot go back to their homes; despite it is 4 years after the disaster. After the earthquake, the tsunami destroyed the power supply used by Fukushima’s three nuclear power stations, causing severe levels of meltdown to be occurred inside the reactors in the timespan of 3 days. It was not until 2 weeks after the tragedy, when the reactors were finally stabilized, and took several months to approach what is called a “cold shutdown condition”, in which the fission in the reactors are completely stopped.(Fukushima A)