Natural Disaster: The Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Disaster
What triggered one of the largest nuclear reactor disasters in history?
The Thoku earthquake and tsunami event?
What caused the reactors' electricity supply to fail?
Shutdowns and issues with the electrical grid supply?
What critical power source did the reactors' coolant pumps depend on?
The backup diesel generators?
Answers:
The Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Disaster was triggered by a 9.0 magnitude earthquake that occurred at a nearby subduction zone, leading to one of the largest nuclear reactor disasters in history. The active reactors automatically shut down their normal power-generating fission processes upon detecting the earthquake. The failure of the reactors' electricity supply was due to these shutdowns and other issues with the electrical grid supply. The backup diesel generators were relied upon to supply power to the pumps that moved coolant through the reactor cores.
Detail Explanation:
The Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Disaster was a catastrophic event caused by a powerful earthquake and subsequent tsunami that hit the Pacific Ocean east of Japan's mainland. The earthquake triggered automatic shutdowns of the nuclear reactors, leading to a failure in the electricity supply and reliance on backup diesel generators. The backup generators were crucial for powering the coolant pumps that maintained the reactors' cores' proper temperature. Unfortunately, the 14-meter high tsunami that followed the earthquake flooded the reactor buildings, leading to the failure of the backup generators and the loss of power for the circulating pumps. This loss of power resulted in the inability to remove residual decay heat, which is generated even after fission processes have stopped.