What was the origin of the reactor failure in Fukushima on March 11 2011?

What was the origin of the reactor failure in Fukushima on March 11 2011?

The accident was triggered by the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami on Friday, 11 March 2011. The resultant loss of reactor core cooling led to three nuclear meltdowns, three hydrogen explosions, and the release of radioactive contamination in Units 1, 2 and 3 between 12 and 15 March.

What happened in the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster?

What happened at Fukushima? Systems at the nuclear plant detected the earthquake and automatically shut down the nuclear reactors. Workers rushed to restore power, but in the days that followed the nuclear fuel in three of the reactors overheated and partly melted the cores – something known as a nuclear meltdown.

Are they still cleaning up Fukushima?

However, at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, “We’re still just very near the starting line” for cleaning up after the meltdowns and explosions triggered by the natural disasters, Fukushima prefecture Governor Masao Uchibori said at a 17 February press briefing.

Does Fukushima still need cooling?

Continued cooling of the melted reactor cores is required in order to remove excess heat. Due to damage to the integrity of the reactor vessels, radioactive water accumulates inside the reactor and turbine buildings. To decontaminate the contaminated water, TEPCO installed radioactive water treatment systems.

Where did the tsunami hit on March 11, 2011?

On March 11, 2011, a magnitude (Mw) 9.1 earthquake struck off the northeast coast of Honshu on the Japan Trench. A tsunami that was generated by the earthquake arrived at the coast within 30 minutes, overtopping seawalls and disabling three nuclear reactors within days.

What was the severity of the nuclear accident in Japan?

In mid-April Japanese nuclear regulators elevated the severity level of the nuclear emergency at the Fukushima Daiichi facility from 5 to 7—the highest level on the scale created by the International Atomic Energy Agency —placing the Fukushima accident in the same category as the Chernobyl accident, which had occurred in the Soviet Union in 1986.

Where was the oil refinery fire in Japan?

Notable were fires in several cities, including a petrochemical plant in Sendai, a portion of the city of Kesennuma in Miyagi prefecture, northeast of Sendai, and an oil refinery at Ichihara in Chiba prefecture, near Tokyo.

When did the nuclear leak happen in Japan?

A significant leak occurred in August 2013 that was severe enough to prompt Japan’s Nuclear Regulation Authority to classify it as a level-3 nuclear incident.