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There are some things beyond engineering design. The Tsunami that followed the massive 8.9 scale earthquake was one of those. Japan especially the city of Sendai and Miyagi was prepared for an earthquake of 9.0 in the Richter scale, 1000 times powerful than the one which rocked Haiti last year and 8000 times more than that which turned Christchurch to rubble a month ago. Fifteen years ago a powerful earthquake that had brought down high rise buildings and over bridges killing 5000 people in Japan made them rebuild and redesign the earthquake prone areas and Sendai as the hub was best prepared for such a calamity.
What it was not prepared was for Tsunami that followed. As the tectonic plates clashed 26 kilometers below sea, and the Eurasian plate moved 50feet grinding over the Pacific plate it raised the sea level and unleashed a tremendous surge. It created a giant wave several hundred mile wide that rose over 10 meters and rolled in at the speed of a cruising jet engine moving off the runaway before takeoff. When the waves hit Miyagi and Sendai it also short circuited the electrical systems of the Fukushima nuclear plant closing the reactors automatically as a safety measure.
However the electrical short circuit also cut of generators that powered the pumping of cooling water in the reactor core and the pressure in the Boiling Water Reactor started to rise despite the fact that the fuel rods were down and no nuclear reaction was taking place. The cooling water was needed to cool down the pressure cooker like nuclear reactor which was becoming hotter by the minute due to the heat entrapped in the secondary circuit not being released. Secondary steam with low amounts of radioactivity were first released to reduce the pressure of the heated reactor,but it was not enough. Though some special coolants were urgently dispatched by the US from its military bases, even the use of this could not help, once the temperatures rose above the safe design level and that resulted in an explosion.
The meltdown in the 40year old Daiichi1 reactor ( See photos above courtesy BBC ) has possibly been contained in the reactor itself as there was no reported explosion in the primary circuit. However an emergency alert of level 4 has been issued and evacuation is being done as the Radioactive levels are way above the safe design zone. A second reactor of 1000 MW capacity twice the size of Daiichi 1 is also heating up and could face a similar situation warned the Japanese Government in an emergency alert even as desperate attempts were being made to use sea water for cooling the core.
Whether Japan can cope up and meet this triple challenge of earthquake and Tsunami followed by the nuclear disaster remains to be seen, but what can be observed and appreciated is that there is no panic but efficient relief work that is started ona massive scale for which the Government and the brave and resilient people both deserve kudos.
There are some things beyond engineering design. The Tsunami that followed the massive 8.9 scale earthquake was one of those. Japan especially the city of Sendai and Miyagi was prepared for an earthquake of 9.0 in the Richter scale, 1000 times powerful than the one which rocked Haiti last year and 8000 times more than that which turned Christchurch to rubble a month ago. Fifteen years ago a powerful earthquake that had brought down high rise buildings and over bridges killing 5000 people in Japan made them rebuild and redesign the earthquake prone areas and Sendai as the hub was best prepared for such a calamity.
What it was not prepared was for Tsunami that followed. As the tectonic plates clashed 26 kilometers below sea, and the Eurasian plate moved 50feet grinding over the Pacific plate it raised the sea level and unleashed a tremendous surge. It created a giant wave several hundred mile wide that rose over 10 meters and rolled in at the speed of a cruising jet engine moving off the runaway before takeoff. When the waves hit Miyagi and Sendai it also short circuited the electrical systems of the Fukushima nuclear plant closing the reactors automatically as a safety measure.
However the electrical short circuit also cut of generators that powered the pumping of cooling water in the reactor core and the pressure in the Boiling Water Reactor started to rise despite the fact that the fuel rods were down and no nuclear reaction was taking place. The cooling water was needed to cool down the pressure cooker like nuclear reactor which was becoming hotter by the minute due to the heat entrapped in the secondary circuit not being released. Secondary steam with low amounts of radioactivity were first released to reduce the pressure of the heated reactor,but it was not enough. Though some special coolants were urgently dispatched by the US from its military bases, even the use of this could not help, once the temperatures rose above the safe design level and that resulted in an explosion.
The meltdown in the 40year old Daiichi1 reactor ( See photos above courtesy BBC ) has possibly been contained in the reactor itself as there was no reported explosion in the primary circuit. However an emergency alert of level 4 has been issued and evacuation is being done as the Radioactive levels are way above the safe design zone. A second reactor of 1000 MW capacity twice the size of Daiichi 1 is also heating up and could face a similar situation warned the Japanese Government in an emergency alert even as desperate attempts were being made to use sea water for cooling the core.
Whether Japan can cope up and meet this triple challenge of earthquake and Tsunami followed by the nuclear disaster remains to be seen, but what can be observed and appreciated is that there is no panic but efficient relief work that is started ona massive scale for which the Government and the brave and resilient people both deserve kudos.
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