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]
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.
Notes and references
See also
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.
External links
- []
- ↑ Reported by London's Daily Telegraph newspaper, described at: EU energy chief: Japan situation ‘out of control’ MarketWatch, March 16, 2011.
- ↑ Fukushima heroes: Not afraid to die, CBS News, March 15, 2011.