What we know so far

Hi all, welcome to my blog, where I have to write down as much things about the Fukushima (福島) Nuclear power plant. So I would like to start this with an Intro.


Bit of Background
In every blog I write, I would usually give a bit of context. So Japan is a MEDC country, with around 38% of electricity generated from Nuclear sources and 53 nuclear reactors.


Fukushima I Nuclear Power plant (Known in Japan as Fukushima Dai-ichi) is a Nuclear power plant located in Okuma, Futaba District, Fukushima prefecture. There is 6 Boiling Water Reactors (BWR) in that power station designed by General Electric, with a total output of ~4.7 GW. Constriction of the plant began on 1966 and it was first commissioned in March 26, 1971. This nuclear power station is run by Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPC) and also the first nuclear power station in Japan to be constructed and ran fully by TEPC.


11.5 Km to the south of Fukushima Dai-ichi, we have Fukushima II Nuclear Power plant (Fukushima Dai-Ni). This time located in the town of Naraha and Tomioka. There is a total of 4 BWR in this plant. Commissioned in 1982. Each generator has an output of 1.1GW.


So what do we know as of this blog post?
What happened recently was the Sendai Earthquake which registers as 9.0 by the USGS, where the coolant system failed, and causing a near thermal meltdown. The Japanese government has declared an Atomic power emergency.


In Fukushima Dai-ichi, reactor 1 (built by GE and commissioned on Jan. 1970), has suffered an partial meltdown of the core, due to the failure of the coolant pumping system. The failure is first reported on 16.36 11/3/2011, when the coolant level is below normal. The failure of the coolant pump is caused by the Tsunami that hit that city. On 3.36 PM JST of 12/3/2011, there was an explosion that happened in the building of reactor 1. The external concrete structure was blown but the metal container for the reactor seems intact. It was later determined that the buildup of hydrogen in the building caused this explosion.


At the same power plant, reactor 3 (1976 by Toshiba) also has problems. It was reported on 13/3/2011 that the emergency cooling system has failed, and using any means necessary to pump water into the reactor to keep the reactor cool. The workers pumped water with Boric acid and later sea water into the reactor to keep it cool. On 12.33 PM JST, a government official hinted that a partial meltdown may be on the war. On 14/3/2011 11.55 JST, there was an explosion of the Nuclear reactor building. TEPC reports 1 worker is injured and 7 missing. However, there isn't a breach of the reactor container. Causes unknown but highly likely be hydrogen buildup.