$30,000 Preventive Care before $300 billion Damage
A preventive measure costing $1 can sometimes prevent occurrence of a tragedy that costs $30 million.
In other word, a probability that a M9.0 earthquake happens and a 14-meter high tsunami is generated within a hazardous range of a nuclear plant is 1/100,000,000 at any time.
But, TEPCO did not spend $1 or $30,000 for reinforcement work to put into readiness its Fukushima No.1 Nuclear Power Plant. Accordingly, $300 billion damage on Japan is at stake, especially around Tokyo.
If a normal cooling-water circulation system is halted due to power outage after a big earthquake, an emergency pump can be used to circulate water through a pressure vessel in a nuclear reactor system. But, to activate the pump, a separate power generator is needed. In the Fukushima Daiichi Plant, those emergency power generators were installed outside the containment building and the turbine building, just on the ground facing the sea 4 to 5 meters below. And, they were not housed in concrete structure.
Then, a M9.0 earthquake and a 14-meter high tsunami attacked the Fukushima No.1 Plant on March 11, 2011, destroying the emergency power generators without protective walls and ceilings. The housing work is estimated to cost just $30,000 or so.
SECTION I: 55 Operating Nuclear Reactors in Japan
Each year since 1966, more than one nuclear reactor was built and put into operation in Japan.
Among them, a score of nuclear reactors were attacked by an M9.0 earthquake and more than 10-meter high tsunami on March 11, 2011.
And, only four reactor units in the Fukushima Daiichi (No.1) Nuclear Power Plant were damaged.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_power_in_Japan
FUKUSHIMA No.1 (Daiichi) PLANT:
Fukushima I – 1 - 460 MW General Electric...hydrogen explosion
Fukushima I – 2 - 784 MW General Electric...vessel damaged?
Fukushima I – 3 - 784 MW Toshiba...hydrogen explosion
Fukushima I – 4 - 784 MW Hitachi...spent fuel pool damaged?
Fukushima I – 5 - 784 MW Toshiba
Fukushima I – 6 - 1,100 MW General Electric
FUKUSHIMA No.2 (Daini) PLANT:
Fukushima II – 1 - 1,100 MW Toshiba
Fukushima II – 2 - 1,100 MW Hitachi
Fukushima II – 3 - 1,100 MW Toshiba
Fukushima II – 4 - 1,100 MW Hitachi
ONAGAWA PLANT:
Onagawa - 1 - 524 MW General Electric?
Onagawa - 2 - 825 MW General Electric?
Onagawa - 3 - 825 MW General Electric?
TOKAI PLANT:
Tokai-1 166 MW Magnox
Tokai-2 1100 MW General Electric?
So, among 15 nuclear reactors, only four in Fukushima No.1 Plant failed on March 11, 2011.
But why?
It is because their emergency power generators for pumps to cool water inside the reactor were not protected sufficiently from tsunami waves unlike others.
If those emergency power generators in Fukushima No.1 Plant had been surrounded by 3-meter high walls and ceilings, there would not have been the Fukushima Daiichi radiation problem now. Simple construction work costing $30,000 could have saved the nuclear reactors from this tragedy.
SECTION II: Fukushima Daini on March 11
There is a report on the state of the Fukushima No.2 (Daini) Nuclear Power Plant on March 11, 2011.
All Fukushima Daini units in cold shutdown
15 March 2011
All four units at the Fukushima Daini nuclear power plant have now achieved cold shutdown - where coolant water is at less than 100ºC - with full operation of cooling systems, Tepco reported. All the reactors shut down automatically during last week's earthquake and have remained safe. While unit 3's shutdown went as expected, damage to the emergency core cooling systems of units 1, 2 and 4 led to the announcement of emergency status. These three reactors were prepared for potential pressure release, but this was never required. Unit 1 announced cold shutdown at 1.24 am on 14 March and unit 2 followed at 3.52 am. Tepco has now announced that unit 4 achieved cold shutdown at 7.15 pm on 15 March. Water levels are now stable in all four reactors and offsite power is available, the company said.
http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/IT-All_Fukushima_Daini_units_in_cold_shutdown-1503114.html
As the emergency power generators in Fukushima No.2 Plant are surrounded by 3-meter high walls and ceilings, there are no Fukushima Daini radiation problem now.
SECTION III: If Chernobyl is at Fukushima
If a map of Ukraine is overlapped on a map of Japan to compare the affected areas in both the cases of Fukushima and Chernobyl, the difference in the scale can be understood. Specially, if the non-inhabitable area set around Chernobyl was applied around Fukushima, Tokyo must be evacuated.
(Click to enlarge.)http://genpatumap.seesaa.net/article/126065171.html
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Club Atletico Osasuna, a Spanish football club, sent a message of support for Japan.
http://ow.ly/i/9IYRThe U.S. is especially extending its friendship to Japan in these days:
"The American Red Cross today announced that the public has generously donated $120.5 million to help the people of Japan following the March 11 earthquake and tsunami."
http://www.redcross.org/portal/site/en/menuitem.94aae335470e233f6cf911df43181aa0/?vgnextoid=6f120bf1bf10f210VgnVCM10000089f0870aRCRD
The Japanese Red Cross Society has received total $500 million of donation from all over the world.
Japan donated $539 million to victims of the 2004 Sumatra earthquake and Indian Ocean tsunami.
http://eereporter.blogspot.com/2011/03/preaching-in-wilderness-of-judaea.html
Money cannot solve the underlying problem of this era which has been manifested in Japan through the 3/11 Disaster. It is related to civilization mankind has built to date. A nuclear power generator is the very symbol of this civilization. An earthquake and a tsunami could happen as long as continental plates move in a larger scale of space and time. But, what they expose through their violent power is damage on humanity having been always done by material civilization. No matter how sophisticated Japan and the Japanese are, they cannot be exempted from this problem. A great sin must be felt at least in the nuclear threat. A sin that we think of money more than the God, since a nuclear power plant is apparently for money but not for praising the God. The Japanese economy should be corrected in this context as the first among major countries.
Money is for a man, but a man is not for money.
Pro 3:29 Devise not evil against thy neighbour, seeing he dwelleth securely by thee.
Pro 3:30 Strive not with a man without cause, if he have done thee no harm.
Pro 3:31 Envy thou not the oppressor, and choose none of his ways.