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Originally Posted by Dartgod
It was my understanding that the reactors withstood the earthquake just fine. The problems all stem from the fact that the tsunami took out the generators and their ability to cool the nuclear fuel. Isn't that correct?
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Er, no. Here's a nice summary from yesterday.
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Originally Posted by Rams Fan
I know this has probably been said before, but this helped me have a better understanding about why and how the nuclear reactors failed to cool down:
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After the earthquake hit, the first safety system to prevent a melt-down was activated. Control rods rose into the nuclear reactor to stop the nuclear fission— but the fuel rods were still hot. Because of the power outage that occurred after the earthquake, water was not circulated to cool down the rods.
The second safety system turned on, and the generator began spraying the rods with coolant. An hour later, that emergency generator stopped— possibly because the tsunami hit the country at that time.
The third safety system then turned on. This system converts steam traveling through the pipes into water. But the water level dropped, and temperatures continued to rise.
All thee safety measures failed.
A professor from Japan's Atomic Energy Commission, whom was involved in the construction of the Fukushima plants, said he thinks the cooling water somehow leaked from the reactor.
“The reactor's coolants must have leaked somewhere in the building,” he said Tuesday. “We thought we had taken adequate precautions for a tsunami, but what happened was beyond our expectations.”
The Japanese government warned 140,000 people to stay within their homes on Tuesday, and an estimated 70,000 people have been evacuated from a 12-mile area around the nuclear plant.
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http://www.ktsm.com/news/breakdown-h...d-to-cool-down |
Now, what's more likely - that the earthquake we know happened somehow broke something causing that leak, or that something completely unrelated and unrepeatable coincidentally took place at the same time?