Fukushima I nuclear accidents   

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The Fukushima I nuclear accidents occurred in Japan during the March 2011 Japanese earthquake and tsunami. A significant amount of radioactive material was released into the atmosphere and a large number of residents were evacuated from surrounding areas.

"There is talk of an apocalypse and I think the word is particularly well chosen... Practically everything is out of control. I cannot exclude the worst in the hours and days to come." - ,” European Energy Commissioner, Guenther Oettinger, speaking to EU ministers.^[1]

Workers at the plant voluntarily exposed themselves to potentially fatal radiation levels, one of them saying "We are not afraid to die."^[2]

Contents 1 Causes 2 Notes and references 3 See also 4 Interwiki links 5 External links

[edit] Causes

Several factors contributed to the Fukushima I nuclear accidents:

• Poor location close to the sea and very close to sea level. This made certain Japanese plants unprepared for a catastrophic earthquake plus tsunami (in an area where such catastrophes are known to be possible).
• Lack of preparedness of pumps - some pumps had been inoperable for years^{[verification needed]}
• An unexpectedly large earthquake and tsunami - or to be more accurate, an inadequate safety margin.

[edit] Notes and references

[edit] See also

• Nuclear energy

[edit] Interwiki links

• Wikipedia:Fukushima I nuclear accidents
• Wikipedia:Nuclear power in Japan
• Wikipedia:Tokaimura nuclear accident, Japan's worst civilian nuclear radiation accident at the time it occurred on 30 September 1999.

[edit] External links

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