Introduction to the special issue on the U.S. response to the Fukushima accident

摘要

On 11 March 2011, at 1446 Japan Standard Time (JST) (11 March 2011, 0146 EST), a 9.0 magnitude earthquake occurred off the northeast coast of Japan, which generated a large tsunami that devastated the region. The tsunami struck the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant complex. While the power plants are thought to have withstood the earthquake and transitioned to shutdown mode, the ensuing tsunami and eventual loss of all electric power at the facility (station blackout) caused the reactor cores to overheat. Radioactive materials were released to the environment due to the venting to control pressure in the reactors and primary containments. In addition, hydrogen gas and associated fission products were released into secondary containment where hydrogen explosions destroyed the secondary containments and released radioactive material into the atmosphere.