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Fukushima disaster was preventable, new study claims

By in Environment on .

Fukushima disaster was preventable, new study claims

© Kimimasa Mayama / Pool
© Kimimasa Mayama / Pool / Reuters

Fukushima, the worst nuclear disaster in Japan’s history was preventable, a new USC study claims. Design problems, negligence and inadequate pre-tsunami surveys all contributed to the failure that led to the nuclear catastrophe, the study claims.

According to the research carried out by the University of Southern California, one of the main faults was the decision to install critical backup generators in low-lying areas, as this was the first place the 2011 tsunami would strike, following the massive earthquake.

 

 

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Backup generators are a key part of any nuclear power plant – they are essential to cool the plant in the event of power loss, in order to prevent a reactor meltdown. These generators were the first to be affected by the disaster, which the author describes as “a cascade of industrial, regulatory and engineering failures.”

Unable to cool itself, the Fukushima Daiichi power plant’s reactors fell like dominos. “What doomed Fukushima Daiichi was the elevation of the EDGs (emergency diesel generators),” the authors claim. One such generator was installed in the basement, while the others were just 10 and 13 meters above sea level – an unacceptably low height, according to Costas Synolakis of USC’s Viterbi School of Engineering in Turkey.

The research, co-authored by Utku Kanoglu of the Middle East Technical University in Turkey, was published in the journal Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society.

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