Lessons from Fukushima Daiichi Accident
The lessons to learn from the 2011 Fukushima Daiiichi nuclear accident are as follows:
1) A nuclear power plant is vulnerable to a certain level of external physical impact, such as an M9.0 earthquake, a 15-meter high tsunami, etc. no matter how small an occurrence possibility of these phenomena have respectively. No matter how rare it is, for example, if a meteoric stone hits a plant, it would cause a great disaster like Chernobyl or Fukushima Daiichi.
2) Parties in charge of controlling, managing, and supervising the nuclear energy industry and nuclear power plants are not well prepared for the worst case scenario. Power companies pursue profits rather than safety due to their nature; regulatory bodies will not spend huge resources and budget to a worst case scenario if a chance of occurrence of such a scenario is very small or too small due to their restricted physical and regulatory capacity; and politicians do not support an idea of absolute safety of nuclear power plants since voters are not interested in such a remote thing as a possible nuclear crisis to be triggered by a meteoric stone.
3) This sort of nuclear accidents will surely occur somewhere on the earth. It will not be caused by an M9.0 earthquake or a 15-meter-high tsunami, but a grave accident will surely happen in some country in future. If any country continues to use, develop, or pursue nuclear energy, it must be prepared for a worst case scenario, that is, discharge of radioactive material or nuclear radiation in a large quantity from a pressure vessel, a containment vessel, and a containment building.
4) Hidden costs of a nuclear power plant is huge. It must be prepared for a nuclear disaster, effective disposal of nuclear waste, and health problems of workers especially on site. The Government should also provide huge financial incentives for villages and towns as well as residents and dwellers around a nuclear power plant for their acceptance of the plant.
5) The biggest issue that justifies use of nuclear energy is possible application of the nuclear energy technology to nuclear weapon development. It is apparent that Japan's initial motivations of a nuclear power plant project included this issue when it started the project as early as in 1950's.
6) The nuclear energy technology is not so well advanced. With further development, if it can fix all the nuclear problems, including a radiation problem and a spent fuel problem, it can continue to be used. But, so far as now, no technological breakthrough is expected in this regard. If it stops forever at the present level, it is safe and reasonable to abandon the nuclear technology.
7) By avoiding the nuclear energy, we can more strongly develop other new energy technology which is safer and more efficient with possible favorable by-products. The nuclear power plant literally blocks a chance of studying, developing, and applying other new energy technology which is safer and more environment friendly.
8) The nuclear energy creates a closed community of parties concerned. As this technology can be easily applied to nuclear weapon development, control, management and supervision of a security-related system applies also to this field. Like military confidential information, they handle most of information related to a nuclear power plant. Accordingly, only selected people are allowed to access such information. Important things are discussed and decided behind the closed door. Hence, a closed community is created around big money used for building and developing nuclear plants.
9) Nobody understands a required level of safety measures for a nuclear power plant. Its pressure vessel must be ten times thicker than it is now or its floor must be made of 4-meter-thick stainless steel with some layers equipped with a cooling function to avoid melt-through of heated nuclear fuel. The concrete foundation of the nuclear vessel containment building must have 20-meter thickness. In the site, there must be a water pool with a size of 100 meters x 50 meters x 20 meters for an emergency use, such as storage of contaminated water. It must have a cooling water system that can work perfectly without electricity to safely cool nuclear fuel in a reactor vessel in case. There is a need to have a storage room at a depth of 2000-meters under the ground in the plant to keep spent fuel in safety for a million years .
(to be continued...)
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Mat 1:1 The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.
Mat 1:2 Abraham begat Isaac; and Isaac begat Jacob; and Jacob begat Judas and his brethren;
Mat 1:3 And Judas begat Phares and Zara of Thamar; and Phares begat Esrom; and Esrom begat Aram;