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Introduction
A major earthquake centered 130 km northeast of Japan’s Honshu Island, which is the nation’s largest and greatest popular component on March 11, 2011. The earthquake produced a 15 meter tsunami that struck coastal areas causing massive damage. The tsunami inundated 560 square km which resulted in a human death toll of over 19,000, with that being said, it also caused excessive damage to coastal ports and towns, with over a million buildings that were destroyed (Dodchuk, 2011). Among the coastal towns affected by the tsunami was Fukushima, and two nuclear power complexes, called the Fukushima Daiichi and Fukushima Daini. Those reactors generating electricity at the time of the earthquake shut down automatically and commenced emergency cooling procedures (Lochbaun, 2014). The reactors are not actually online but, require continuing cooling procedures affecting reactor and …show more content…
However, and perhaps more serious in planning terms, was the purported insufficiency of anticipation of prospective challenges. For example, in its 2015 report on the Fukushima event, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) pointed to inadequate levels of defense in depth, specifically the impact of flooding. The means of protection intended to provide prevention of the progression of severe accidents and mitigation of their consequences, were not able to restore reactor cooling and to maintain integrity of the containment. Functioning of all of the disaster containment components was predicated on available electrical power, an energy source almost certain to be compromised during a flooding event. The plant was built close to sea level and protection against flooding hazards was not sufficient, as the risk of flooding was not appropriately
Introduction
A major earthquake centered 130 km northeast of Japan’s Honshu Island, which is the nation’s largest and greatest popular component on March 11, 2011. The earthquake produced a 15 meter tsunami that struck coastal areas causing massive damage. The tsunami inundated 560 square km which resulted in a human death toll of over 19,000, with that being said, it also caused excessive damage to coastal ports and towns, with over a million buildings that were destroyed (Dodchuk, 2011). Among the coastal towns affected by the tsunami was Fukushima, and two nuclear power complexes, called the Fukushima Daiichi and Fukushima Daini. Those reactors generating electricity at the time of the earthquake shut down automatically and commenced emergency cooling procedures (Lochbaun, 2014). The reactors are not actually online but, require continuing cooling procedures affecting reactor and …show more content…
However, and perhaps more serious in planning terms, was the purported insufficiency of anticipation of prospective challenges. For example, in its 2015 report on the Fukushima event, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) pointed to inadequate levels of defense in depth, specifically the impact of flooding. The means of protection intended to provide prevention of the progression of severe accidents and mitigation of their consequences, were not able to restore reactor cooling and to maintain integrity of the containment. Functioning of all of the disaster containment components was predicated on available electrical power, an energy source almost certain to be compromised during a flooding event. The plant was built close to sea level and protection against flooding hazards was not sufficient, as the risk of flooding was not appropriately