Unlike the Chernobyl power plant, the
Fukushima Daiichi power plant was considered
one of the safest nuclear power
plants in the world. However, we had to
witness the world’s second-biggest nuclear
meltdown there.
The six reactors of the power plant came
online one at a time beginning in 1970
and the last in 1979. Also, there were two
planned reactors which were canceled
due to the nuclear accident.
On March 11, 2011, Japan faced one of
the biggest natural disasters known
by humankind. A magnitude-9 earthquake
shook northeastern Japan and
it unleashed a savage tsunami. More
than 120,000 buildings were destroyed,
278,000 were half-destroyed and 726,000
were partially destroyed. The number of
confirmed deaths was 15,894 as of June
10, 2016, according to the reconstruction
agency. More than 2,500 people are still
reported missing.
Nuclear fuel pellets are not much larger than
a sugar cube
Less than an hour after the earthquake, the first
of many tsunami waves hit Japan’s coastline. The
tsunami waves reached run-up heights of up to
128 feet. These tsunami waves were the reason for
the meltdown of the power plant.
Fukushima Daiichi Power Plant
Page 40
University of Peradeniya GAUGE Magazine