August 9, 2013

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan has directed his government to step in and do whatever is necessary to stabilize the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. His move throws a glaring light on the fact that the plant’s operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), has failed to contain nuclear radiation leaks more than two years after a catastrophic triple meltdown caused by an earthquake and tsunami. A magnitude-9 earthquake and subsequent tsunami that hit Japan’s main island, Honshu, on March 11, 2011, knocked out the plant’s cooling systems, triggering blasts at three of six reactors. The earthquake and disaster also left 15,800 people dead and more than 2,600 others missing. Hundreds of thousands of people were left homeless.

A huge wave strikes Japan's coast on March 11, 2011. An earthquake that day caused a tsunami (series of powerful ocean waves) that crippled the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. (© Mainichi Shimbun, Reuters)

According to a government official, as much as 75,000 gallons (284 cubic meters) of  groundwater is believed to be flowing daily downhill through the ruined plant and into a containment pond. In June, TEPCO created a “chemical wall” to line the pond by treating the soil to make it impermeable to water. For a time, the pond contained the contaminated water, but now the water has filled the pond and appears to be flowing over the top of the barrier and into the Pacific Ocean. Nuclear scientists suggest that one solution would be to build a wall of ice around the damaged reactor buildings. This would freeze the surrounding soil, shutting off the flow of groundwater into the plant.

Additional World Book articles:

• Japan 2011 (a Back in Time article)
• Reconsidering Nuclear Power (a special report)