Alternatively, an external fire may endanger the core, leading to a meltdown. A meltdown may be caused by a loss of coolant, loss of coolant pressure, or low coolant flow rate or be the result of a criticality excursion in which the reactor is operated at a power level that exceeds its design limits. This differs from a fuel element failure, which is not caused by high temperatures. It has been defined to mean the accidental melting of the core of a nuclear reactor, however, and is in common usage a reference to the core's either complete or partial collapse.Ī core meltdown accident occurs when the heat generated by a nuclear reactor exceeds the heat removed by the cooling systems to the point where at least one nuclear fuel element exceeds its melting point. The term nuclear meltdown is not officially defined by the International Atomic Energy Agency or by the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Unit 2, which suffered a partial core melt, is in the background.Ī nuclear meltdown ( core meltdown, core melt accident, meltdown or partial core melt ) is a severe nuclear reactor accident that results in core damage from overheating. But in continuing to build back better, Fukushima Prefecture is well down the road of recovery and regeneration.Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station consisted of two pressurized water reactors manufactured by Babcock & Wilcox, each inside its own containment building and connected cooling towers. Decontaminating the nuclear power plant will take another thirty years, and thousands of people remain displaced. In the last 100 years, 58 tsunamis have killed more than 260,000 people.įukushima Prefecture still faces many challenges ahead. Around the world, schools, businesses, governments, and communities will mark the day with evacuation drills and other awareness-raising activities. The annual World Tsunami Awareness Day, the first edition of which takes place on 5 November, offers an opportunity share lessons and engage communities to reinforce the message that early warning, education, and preparedness can save lives. It also links with other parts of the international agenda such as the Sustainable Development Goals. The Sendai Framework has expanded the remit of disaster risk reduction well beyond the traditional area of natural hazards to bring in technological risks and issues such as health. McFarlane said that the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami of 2011 changed our thinking on how natural and technological hazards interplay, how land use planning can be used to reduce vulnerability, and how important it is to listen to and engage with local citizens. It is a concept that integrates disaster risk reduction into recovery, reconstruction, and development measures to make nations and communities resilient to future disasters. Neil McFarlane, Chief of the UNISDR New York Liaison Office.īuilding back better is one of the core priorities in the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction – a 15-year global blueprint adopted by the international community in 2015 in Sendai, another earthquake- and tsunami-affected part of eastern Japan. Through the Renewable Energy Research and Development Centre, opened in 2014, the Governor envisions Fukushima as a leader in producing hydrogen power technology – technology that will be used to power the 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games.įukushima Prefecture’s reconstruction and regeneration efforts area a good example of the “build back better” approach, said Mr. Fukushima’s revitalisation is being propelled by the development of new industries centred on renewable energy and robotics. Uchibori emphasized that reconstruction presents an opportunity for regeneration. Over 80% of infrastructure has been rebuilt, including schools, clinics, and highways. Work is underway to decommission the power plant and significant progress has been made in removing radioactive materials from the soil, farm land, homes and public buildings. Masao Uchibori, underscored that the region’s clocks did not stop that day. Speaking at an event ‘Fukushima After 2049 Days: Current revitalization on the ground’ at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, the Governor of Fukushima Prefecture, Mr. A 9.0 magnitude earthquake off Japan’s eastern seaboard unleashed a powerful tsunami that triggered a devastating nuclear meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi Power Plant. NEW YORK, 24 October 2016 – The future of Fukushima Prefecture dramatically changed on 11 March 2011.
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