Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
gas was generated from the heat, the valves that could
have diverted the hydrogen to very tall chimneys could
not be operated. The result was partial core meltdowns in
three of the reactors and hydrogen explosions in some of
the buildings. Much radioactive material was released
(estimates are that it was about
% of that from the
Chernobyl accident).
The report of the special commission set up by the
Japanese Diet was
scathing. Its Executive Summary
(reference
) says:
A
The TEPCO Fukushima Power plant
accident was the result of collusion between the government, the
regulators and TEPCO, and the lack of governance by said parties.
They effectively betrayed the nation
“
manmade
”
disaster
-
s right to be safe from nuclear
accidents. Therefore, we conclude that
'
the accident was
clearly
“
We believe that the root causes were the organizational
and regulatory systems that supported faulty rationales for decisions
and actions, rather than issues relating to the competency of any
speci
Manmade.
”
c individual.
The cleanup is a work in progress, and as time has passed
the Japanese government has taken a larger role in the
work. It has separated the regulators from the promoters
of nuclear energy, and shut down all of its nuclear power
plants for in-depth safety reviews. They are slowly
coming back on now. Residents of large areas near the
Fukushima reactors are still not allowed to return to their
homes because of radiation from contamination released
by the accident.
I was asked by the editor of a very prestigious journal
put out by the Royal Society (London) to comment on an
article published in
that analyzed the long-term
