The New Yorker, which published Oe’s essay, was the magazine that in 1946 published John Hersey’s Hiroshima, 2 where, for the first time through the narratives of bomb victims, American readers were confronted with the human consequences of the events that had unfolded under the mushroom cloud. To repeat the error by exhibiting, through the construction of nuclear reactors, the same disrespect for human life is the worst possible betrayal of the memory of Hiroshima’s victims. The Japanese should not be thinking of nuclear energy in terms of industrial productivity. Two weeks after the disaster, author Oe Kenzaburo wrote , This time, however, Japan inflicted it on itself. After Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the nuclear reactor meltdown and explosion at four reactors at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant was the third large-scale nuclear disaster to hit Japan. On March 11, 2011, an earthquake and tsunami along the Pacific coastline of Northeastern Japan brought devastation reminiscent of the 1945 atomic and incendiary bombing that devastated whole towns, littering them with the bodies of victims and posing a continuing threat to survivors. Data from the reactor and spent fuel pool show normal temperatures and water levels.Fukushima and Okinawa – the “Abandoned People,” and Civic Empowerment After running on emergency generators, electricity was restored to the unit on March 22, and cooling water systems have been repaired. Reactor 6 was shut down and undergoing routine maintenance at the time of the earthquake and tsunami. Data from the reactor and spent fuel pool show normal temperatures and water levels. After running on emergency generators, electricity was restored to the unit on March 21, and cooling water systems have been repaired. Reactor 5 was shut down and undergoing routine maintenance at the time of the earthquake and tsunami. Lighting at part of the facility was restored on March 29. Water has been regularly sprayed on the building and spent fuel pool using water cannons and concrete pumping trucks, and seawater has been added to the spent fuel pool. But the building was damaged by two fires on March 15 and 16, likely caused by a buildup of hydrogen from the rods in the spent fuel pool. Reactor 4 was undergoing routine maintenance at the time of the earthquake and tsunami, so there were no fuel rods in the reactor core. About seven feet of the fuel rods are exposed inside the reactor core after initially cooling the core with seawater, fresh water is now being injected. Helicopters, fire trucks, and concrete pumping trucks have tried dousing the reactor building and spent fuel pools with water. A mix of sawdust, polymer and newspaper were added in an attempt to stop the flow of contaminated water from a power cable trench.Ī hydrogen explosion on March 14 was followed by smoke and the release of radiation on March 16. Workers have begun to pump radioactive water from the basement floor of the turbine building to a storage facility. Officials are now pumping fresh water into the spent fuel pool. White smoke has been a regular occurrence from Reactor 2 seawater was initially pumped into the nuclear core but fresh water is now being used. More than five feet of the fuel rods remain exposed inside the reactor.Ī hydrogen explosion on March 15 damaged the reactor building and the pressure suppression chamber, causing the pressure inside the containment vessel to fluctuate. After using seawater to cool the overheating reactor core, fresh water is now being pumped through the nuclear reactor core. It will continue to be updated as new information becomes available.Ī hydrogen explosion on March 12 severely damaged the outer reactor building. UPDATED: The information below reflects developments through 5:12 p.m. Below is a chart showing the status of each of the six reactors, with the most recent information as possible. External power had reached most of the units by March 23. Safety officials say they continue to be most concerned about the pools at Unit 3 and 4. ![]() Getting water to the spent fuel pools at Units 3 and 4 from the air and ground proved difficult for several days after radiation levels spiked. Each reactor has a used fuel pool in the upper level of their buildings. Workers are pumping water into the cores of Units 1, 2 and 3 and adding water to the spent fuel pools at 3, 4, 5 and 6. But the most common response at this point is water. With unique conditions at each reactor, slightly different responses are required. Problems began that day, and each day has brought new, unsettling developments. The situation at Japan's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant has been changing rapidly and growing increasingly complex since the earthquake and tsunami hit on March 11.
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