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Essay / Overview of the Fukishima Nuclear Power Plant Meltdown
The Fukishima Nuclear Power Plant accident is one of the worst natural and nuclear disasters in Japanese history. The disaster was caused by the high waves of the Tsumanin which followed an earthquake. on March 11, 2011. Water discharged from the waves flooded the factory, leading to a chain of catastrophic events at the factory. The main cause of the meltdown at the Fukishima nuclear power plant was the lack of electricity resulting from water damage to the backup generators located underground (“Inside Japan's Nuclear,” 2012). As planned by TEPCO, in the event of a disaster, the reactors' main electricity generators are designed to shut down, cutting off the energy that helps generate coolant for the reactors. After the earthquake, the first stage of the emergency procedure went well, however, the Tsumanin waves that followed the earthquake were about three times higher than the barrier built by TEPCO to prevent water from damaging the facilities of the complex. Water released from the Tsumanin flooded the complex, including the basement housing the emergency diesel generators. With generators required by flooding, workers had no way to get water or coolant to cool the nuclear reactors and, predictably, the reactors began to overheat, leading to the nuclear meltdown of the reactors at the Fukishima nuclear power plant ("Inside Japan's