In March 2011, the Fukushima nuclear disaster, the second worst nuclear accident, happened in the Fukushima Daiichi plant located in Northern Japan. Tokyo Electric and Power Company managed the plant. The accident brought significant destruction to units 1, 2 and 3. The nuclear disaster in Fukushima and Chernobyl resulted in the release of fission products such as I-131, Cs-134 and Cs-137 (Steinhauser et al. 800).
Tsunami waves caused by the earthquake in Japan damaged the backup generators in the nuclear plant. Reactors 1-3 were shut down. However, power loss led to the failure of the cooling systems of the reactors. Rising residual heat in the reactors’ cores made the fuel rods melt down. At the time of the disaster, only reactors 1-3 were running. Reactor 4 was the temporary storage of spent fuel rods. In March 2011, there was an explosion in the building surrounding Reactor 2. Due to the rising temperatures in reactor 4, the explosion accompanied by fire led to an increase in the amount of radiation released from the plant.
Most Dangerous Unit
Of the four units, the fourth one poses the greatest danger. Loss of coolant would result in intense gamma radiations, overheating of uncooled spent fuel would lead to high temperatures resulting in releasing of radioactive material to the environment, and crowding of spent fuel because of gravity can restart the fission process, endangering the workers.
Radiation Doses
The Chernobyl exclusion zone was the most radioactively contaminated place in the world. Radionuclides in the area include Pu-isotopes, 137Cs and 241Am. It was an area initially estimated at 30km radius within the Chernobyl nuclear plant. Today, the region is known for thriving populations of beavers, bears and elks. There are only a handful of radiation effects, such as stunted growth in trees and high levels of Cs-137 in animals. In Fukushima, doses of Cs-137 and Cs-134 have been found in fish (Saito 308).
Conclusion
Fukushima and Chernobyl nuclear accidents are the worst in the history of atomic energy generation. Both resulted in the release of fission products such as Cs-137 into the environment. Effects of the disasters are still present, with doses of radioactive material found in animals and plantations in Fukushima and Chernobyl.
Works Cited
Saito, Kimiaki, et al. “Detailed deposition density maps constructed by large-scale soil sampling for gamma-ray emitting radioactive nuclides from the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant accident.” Journal of Environmental Radioactivity 139 (2015): 308-319.
Steinhauser, Georg, Alexander Brandl, and Thomas E. Johnson. “Comparison of the Chernobyl and Fukushima nuclear accidents: a review of the environmental impacts.” Science of the Total Environment 470 (2014): 800-817.
