What happened at Fukushima?
The 2011 disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant was the worst nuclear event since the meltdown at Chernobyl in the former Soviet Union 25 years prior.
How much will Japan pay to clean up Fukushima?
Other Japanese nuclear operators would pay ¥4 trillion through the Nuclear Damage Compensation and Decommissioning Facilitation Corp (NDF), and the Japanese government would pay ¥2 trillion for cleanup in Fukushima prefecture.
Is the operator of Fukushima plant faking repair records?
^ "Operator of Fukushima nuke plant admitted to faking repair records". Herald Sun. Australia. March 20, 2011. Retrieved March 20, 2011. ^ "Japan tsunami: Fukushima Fifty, the first interview". March 27, 2011. Retrieved February 7, 2017. ^ Mainichi Shimbun, "TEPCO to drop plan to add two reactors at Fukushima nuclear plant", April 5, 2011.
What happened to Japan’s nuclear disaster recovery funding?
The death toll directly due to the nuclear accident or radiation exposure remained zero, but stress and disruption due to the continuing evacuation remains high. Tokyo’s Board of Audit reported in October 2013 that 23% of recovery funding – about ¥1.45 trillion ($14.5 billion) – had been misappropriated.
How many reactors are there in Fukushima?
At the time of the Tōhoku earthquake on 11 March 2011, Reactors 4, 5, and 6 were shut down in preparation for re-fueling.
What was the cause of the Fukushima disaster?
The event was primarily caused by the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami . It was the most severe nuclear accident since the Chernobyl disaster in 1986.
How tall was the sea wall at the Onagawa nuclear power plant?
At the Onagawa Nuclear Power Plant, closer to the epicenter of 11 March earthquake and tsunami, the sea wall was 14 meters (46 ft) tall and successfully withstood the tsunami, preventing serious damage and radioactivity releases.
What were the problems caused by Chernobyl?
They developed many psychosomatic problems, including radiophobia along with an increase in fatalistic alcoholism. As Japanese health and radiation specialist Shunichi Yamashita noted:
What is the level of Fukushima?
The incident was rated 7 on the International Nuclear Event Scale (INES). This scale runs from 0, indicating an abnormal situation with no safety consequences, to 7, indicating an accident causing widespread contamination with serious health and environmental effects. Prior to Fukushima, the Chernobyl disaster was the only level 7 event on record, while the Mayak explosion was rated 6 and Three Mile Island accident was rated as level 5.
How long is fuel stored in Fukushima?
Used fuel assemblies taken from reactors are initially stored for at least 18 months in the pools adjacent to their reactors. They can then be transferred to the central fuel storage pond. Fukushima I's storage area contains 6375 fuel assemblies. After further cooling, fuel can be transferred to dry cask storage, which has shown no signs of abnormalities.
What happened in Japan in 2015?
On 10 September 2015, floodwaters driven by Typhoon Etau prompted mass evacuations in Japan and overwhelmed the drainage pumps at the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant . A TEPCO spokesperson said that hundreds of metric tons of radioactive water entered the ocean as a result.
How much did the government pay for the Fukushima disaster?
TOKYO — A high court in Japan on Wednesday became the first at that level to hold the government responsible for the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster, saying in a ruling that the state and the plant’s operator must pay about $9.5 million in damages to survivors.
Who was the plaintiff in the Fukushima case?
Takashi Nakajima, one of the plaintiffs in the case, told reporters that the ruling was a reminder that the consequences of the Fukushima disaster were still real, even if many people in Japan were starting to forget about it. “Some people say that I’m damaging Fukushima’s reputation,” Mr. Nakajima said.
What happened in 2011?
The overpowering earthquake and tsunami that ripped through northern Japan in March 2011 caused a triple meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi plant, leading to the worst nuclear crisis since Chernobyl.
How much did Sendai pay to survivors?
The Sendai High Court said the state and the plant’s operator must pay $9.5 million to survivors of the 2011 nuclear accident. They have until mid-October to appeal to the country’s Supreme Court.
Why is the ruling by Sendai's high court important?
But the ruling by Sendai’s high court, one of eight such courts in Japan, is significant because it could set a legal precedent for dozens of similar lawsuits that have been filed across the country. The government has long argued that it could not have prevented the tsunami or the nuclear accident, while Tepco says it has already paid any ...
When was the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant damaged?
A damaged reactor building at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Japan in 2011.
Who is the chairman of the Nuclear Regulation Authority?
Toyoshi Fuketa , the chairman of the Nuclear Regulation Authority, an agency that was created after the Fukushima accident, said on Wednesday that he would not comment until the details of the judgment were released.
How much did it cost to clean up Fukushima?
Completely cleaning up and taking apart the plant could take a generation or more, and comes with a hefty price tag. In 2016 the government increased its cost estimate to about $75.7 billion, part of the overall Fukushima disaster price tag of $202.5 billion.
How much did the nuclear disaster cost?
There’s a reasonable case for an identifiable $800 billion in costs for the nuclear portion of the Fukushima disaster. It’s not hard to see that a 40-year recovery period along with costs excluded from this could add 25% to that without breaking a sweat.
What would happen if the tsunami had not occurred?
Yes, if the tsunami had not occurred, the Fukushima reactor would not have a problem. But that’s facile. If a wind or solar farm had been where the reactor is, it would have been destroyed and the loss would have been trivial in comparison.
How long does it take to clean up a Tepco site?
TEPCO indicates that it will take 30–40 years. That’s 3–4 decades of expensive management, execution, and governance. The solutions to the problem have been somewhat intractable so far. The site is very small. If it had anything else on it, the costs would have been orders of magnitude smaller. Site cleanup costs over 3–4 decades of this magnitude are very localized, while the earthquake and tsunami were much less localized.
How much of Japan's electricity came from nuclear power plants?
Prior to the Fukushima disaster, ~30% of Japan’s electricity came from nuclear power plants. There’s an obvious line on the chart that plunges to zero, and that’s nuclear generation. The Japanese government made the call to shut off all nuclear generation until they’d been vetted for safety after Fukushima.
How many casualties did the heatwave in the Pacific Northwest cause?
Canadian authorities said the historic heatwave gripping the Pacific Northwest caused “unprecedented casualties,” as a fourth day of historic heat spread searing temperatures inland even as some relief arrived for coastal areas. At least 233
Is flying in a passenger jet worse than radiation?
This is the mostly irrational part of the equation. The cars in question were too far from Fukushima to have been irradiated and were so lightly ‘radioactive’ that flying in a passenger jet is worse, but still, people are weird about radiation after decades of Hollywood and — ironically — Japanese movies demonizing radiation.
How many people died in the Fukushima fire?
Japanese officials report that a fire at the stricken Fukushima nuclear power plant has released radioactive material into the air in the latest development in the chaos wrought by the recent earthquake and tsunami that have left at least 10,000 people dead in northeastern Japan. DigitalGlobe/Getty Images.
How long did Fukushima lose power?
A new earthquake, of magnitude 7.0, rocks eastern Japan. For 50 minutes, Fukushima loses power, preventing cooling water from reaching Units 1, 2, and 3.
What was the worst nuclear disaster in the world?
The 2011 disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant was the worst nuclear event since the meltdown at Chernobyl in the former Soviet Union 25 years prior. It started with an earthquake. It resulted in 465,000 evacuations, $360 billion in economic losses and increased radiation levels in Tokyo, 140 miles away.
What is the magnitude of the Fukushima earthquake?
The earthquake has a magnitude of 9.1, making it the largest earthquake in Japan’s history—and one of the five most powerful earthquakes globally recorded since modern record-keeping began. 3:27 p.m.: The earthquake sets off a tsunami. The first wave arrives at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in the form of a 13-foot-high wave, ...
How high is the tsunami in Fukushima?
The first wave arrives at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in the form of a 13-foot-high wave, which is deflected by a sea wall built to withstand waves up to 33 feet high. 3:35 p.m.: A second wave, this one over 50 feet high, breaches the wall.
What happens to the second wave of the nuclear reactor?
3:35 p.m.: A second wave, this one over 50 feet high, breaches the wall. It destroys seawater pumps, drowns power panels that distribute energy to water pumps, and surges into basements where backup generators are housed. In five of the six reactors, AC power is lost; without the power, water pumps can’t provide the steady flow of cool water to the reactors’ intensely hot cores. Without the regular flow of cooling water, a meltdown will inevitably follow.
What does the dosimeters on the reactors mean?
Their dosimeters read off-the-scale levels of radiation, indicating that the core of Unit 1 is exposed and its fuel rods ruptured.
How many people died in Fukushima?
Disaster-related deaths are in addition to the about 19,500 that were killed by the earthquake or tsunami.
How many generators were disabled in Fukushima?
This disabled 12 of 13 backup generators onsite and also the heat exchangers for dumping reactor waste heat and decay heat to the sea.
What happened to the Daiichi reactor?
Fukushima Daiichi Accident. Following a major earthquake, a 15-metre tsunami disabled the power supply and cooling of three Fukushima Daiichi reactors, causing a nuclear accident beginning on 11 March 2011. All three cores largely melted in the first three days.
How far apart are Fukushima plants?
The Daiichi (first) and Daini (second) Fukushima plants are sited about 11 km apart on the coast, Daini to the south. The recorded seismic data for both plants – some 180 km from the epicentre – shows that 550 Gal (0.56 g) was the maximum ground acceleration for Daiichi, and 254 Gal was maximum for Daini.
Why were the Daini reactors shut down?
The four units at Fukushima Daini were shut down automatically due to the earthquake. The tsunami – here only 9 m high – affected the generators and there was major interruption to cooling due to damaged heat exchangers, so the reactors were almost completely isolated from their ultimate heat sink. Damage to the diesel generators was limited and also the earthquake left one of the external power lines intact, avoiding a station blackout as at Daiichi units 1-4. Staff laid and energized 8.8 km of heavy-duty electric cables in 30 hours to supplement power.
Why were the Daiichi reactors written off?
All four Fukushima Daiichi reactors were written off due to damage in the accident – 2719 MWe net. After two weeks, the three reactors (units 1-3) were stable with water addition and by July they were being cooled with recycled water from the new treatment plant.
When did Tepco decommission Unit 6?
In September 2013 Tepco commenced work to remove the fuel from unit 6. Prime minister Abe then called for Tepco to decommission both units. Tepco announced in December 2013 that it would decommission both units from the end of January 2014. Unit 5 was a 760 MWe BWR the same as units 2-4, and unit 6 was larger – 1067 MWe. They entered commercial operation in 1978 and 1979 respectively. It is proposed that they will be used for training.
When was Fukushima damaged?
The Fukushima Dai-Ichi Nuclear Power Station was damaged in a series of events after the 11 March 2011 earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan. Credit: IAEA Imagebank.
Where is the Fukushima nuclear power station?
Fukushima Nuclear Power Station, Japan. The Fukushima Dai-Ichi Nuclear Power Station is located in the towns of Futaba and Ohkuma, 250km north of Tokyo city i. The Fukushima Dai-Ichi Nuclear Power Station is located in the towns of Futaba and Ohkuma in Japan. Credit: IAEA Imagebank.
Where is Fukushima Dai-Ichi located?
The Fukushima Dai-Ichi Nuclear Power Station is an out of commission nuclear plant located in the towns of Futaba and Ohkuma, 250km north of Tokyo city in Japan. The first unit of the nuclear station was commissioned in 1971. In total, the station has six boiling water reactors which together have a power generation capacity ...
What was the first nuclear power plant in Japan?
Fukushima Dai-Ichi was the first nuclear plant to be constructed and operated entirely by Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO). Units 1, 2, 3 and 4 of the nuclear complex were damaged in a series of events after the 11 March 2011 earthquake (Tohoku-Chihou-Taiheiyou-Oki Earthquake) and tsunami that struck the nation.
How far was the evacuation zone from the nuclear reactor?
Efforts to cool the reactor vessels with seawater and boric acid failed. The evacuation zone around the nuclear complex was increased from 9km to 19km and was further extended to 30km radius after the explosion of Unit 3.
What caused the nuclear reactors to explode?
A portion of the fuel rods that create heat through nuclear reaction was exposed due to the failure of the cooling system caused by the tsunami. This failure resulted in nuclear explosion in the reactors.
What floor was damaged in the fire in Unit 4?
On the same day, the fifth floor of Unit 4 building was damaged. Fire was sighted in the north-west part of the fourth floor and efforts to put it out were initiated immediately.
How many reactors are there in Fukushima?
The Fukushima Daiichi site is divided into two reactor groups, the leftmost group – when viewing from the ocean – contains units 4, 3, 2 and 1 going from left to right. The rightmost group – when viewing from the ocean – contains the newer units 5 and 6, respectively, the positions from left to right. A set of seawalls protrude into the ocean, with the water intake in the middle and water discharge outlets on either side.
Why were the Fukushima nuclear reactors shut down?
From the end of 2002 through 2005, the reactors were among those shut down for a time for safety checks due to the TEPCO data falsification scandal. On February 28, 2011, TEPCO submitted a report to the Japanese Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency admitting that the company had previously submitted fake inspection and repair reports. The report revealed that TEPCO failed to inspect more than 30 technical components of the six reactors, including power boards for the reactor's temperature control valves, as well as components of cooling systems such as water pump motors and emergency power diesel generators. In 2008, the IAEA warned Japan that the Fukushima plant was built using outdated safety guidelines, and could be a "serious problem" during a large earthquake. The warning led to the building of an emergency response center in 2010, used during the response to the 2011 nuclear accident.
How big is Fukushima Daiichi?
The Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (福島第一原子力発電所, Fukushima Daiichi Genshiryoku Hatsudensho) is a disabled nuclear power plant located on a 3.5-square-kilometre (860-acre) site in the towns of Ōkuma and Futaba in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. The plant suffered major damage from the magnitude 9.0 earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan on March 11, 2011. The chain of events caused radiation leaks and permanently damaged several reactors, making them impossible to restart. By political decision, the remaining reactors were not restarted.
Why did the Tepco plant lower the height of the bluff?
One reason for lowering the bluff was to allow the base of the reactors to be constructed on solid bedrock in order to mitigate the threat posed by earthquakes.
How long did it take for fuel rods to fall in reactor 3?
Fuel rods fell in reactor No. 3, causing a nuclear reaction. It took about seven and a half hours to place the rods back into proper positions. There was no record of the incident, as TEPCO had covered it up; interviews of two former workers in 2007 led to its discovery by TEPCO management.
Where are the generators and batteries located in the TEPCO reactor?
The reactor's emergency diesel generators and DC batteries, crucial components in helping keep the reactors cool in the event of a power loss, were located in the basements of the reactor turbine buildings. The reactor design plans provided by General Electric specified placing the generators and batteries in that location, but mid-level engineers working on the construction of the plant were concerned that this made the backup power systems vulnerable to flooding. TEPCO elected to strictly follow General Electric's design in the construction of the reactors.
Why did the Daiichi wall fail?
The wall ultimately failed to significantly decrease the groundwater flowing into the site. On September 26, 2020, Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga visited the Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant to show that his cabinet prioritized the reconstruction of areas that were affected by natural and nuclear disasters.
Overview
The Fukushima nuclear disaster was a 2011 nuclear accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Ōkuma, Fukushima, Japan. The proximate cause of the nuclear disaster was the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami natural disaster that occurred on 11 March 2011 and was the most powerful earthquake ever recorded in Japan. The earthquake triggered a powerful tsuna…
Plant description
The Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant consisted of six General Electric (GE) light water boiling water reactors (BWRs) with a combined power of 4.7 gigawatts, making it one of the world's 25 largest nuclear power stations. It was the first GE-designed nuclear plant to be constructed and run entirely by the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO). Reactor 1 was a 439 MWe type (BWR-…
Accident
At the time of the Tōhoku earthquake on 11 March 2011, Reactors 4, 5, and 6 were shut down. However, their spent fuel pools still required cooling.
The 9.0 MW earthquake occurred at 14:46 on Friday, 11 March 2011, with the epicenter near Honshu, the largest island of Japan. It produced maximum ground g-forces of 0.56, 0.52, 0.56 at units 2, 3, and 5 respectively. This exceeded the …
Analysis of the response
One analysis, in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, stated that Government agencies and TEPCO were unprepared for the "cascading nuclear disaster" and the tsunami that "began the nuclear disaster could and should have been anticipated and that ambiguity about the roles of public and private institutions in such a crisis was a factor in the poor response at Fukushima". In March 2012, Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda said that the government shared the blame for the F…
Prior safety concerns
In 1967, when the plant was built, TEPCO levelled the sea coast to make it easier to bring in equipment. This put the new plant at 10 meters (33 ft) above sea level, rather than the original 30 meters (98 ft).
On 27 February 2012, the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency ordered TEPCO to report its reasoning for changing the piping layout for the emergency cooling s…
Releases of radioactive contamination
Radioactive material was released from the containment vessels for several reasons: deliberate venting to reduce gas pressure, deliberate discharge of coolant water into the sea, and uncontrolled events. Concerns about the possibility of a large scale release led to a 20-kilometer (12 mi) exclusion zone around the power plant and recommendations that people within the surroundi…
Event rating
The incident was rated 7 on the International Nuclear Event Scale (INES). This scale runs from 0, indicating an abnormal situation with no safety consequences, to 7, indicating an accident causing widespread contamination with serious health and environmental effects. Prior to Fukushima, the Chernobyl disaster was the only level 7 event on record, while the Mayak explo…
Aftermath
There were no deaths from radiation exposure in the immediate aftermath of the incident, though there were a number of (around 1600 non-radiation related) deaths during the evacuation of the nearby population. As of September 2018, one cancer fatality was the subject of a financial settlement, to the family of a former nuclear station workman. while approximately 18,500 people died due t…