Set off the blast, which was felt 25 miles away. Hydrogen in the released steam mixed with oxygen in the atmosphere and Reduce pressure inside the reactor containment vessel in Unit Three, butĪpparently felt they had no choice if they wanted to avoid a complete Managers knew an explosion was a possibility as they struggled to Knocked out emergency coolant systems on Friday.Įarlier engineers were frantically trying to cool radioactive materials at all the reactors with seawater but had halted the process, which resulted in a rise in radiation levels and pressure. ![]() Have been fighting to keep the reactors under control after the tsunami The plant were partially exposed from their coolant today - which also The fuel rods in the reactor in Unit Two of Were hurt by the blast that was felt 25 miles away.Įxploded on Saturday, blowing several walls away but engineers said theĬore was still contained. Unit Three of the power station earlier today, in which eleven workers There was a hydrogen explosion at the reactor in Japan is fighting to avoid a nuclear catastrophe after the tsunami. The reactor that can melt through even the toughest of containment Reactor's inner chamber - but not through the outer containment shell.įuel rods melt, they form an extremely hot molten pool at the bottom of Only use that term for when molten nuclear fuel melts through a Yukio Edano said it was 'highly likely' that the fuel rods inside allĮxperts class that a partial meltdown of the reactor, but others would The worst case scenario is that the protective shield around the reactors is melted away, resulting in a serious leak of radioactive material. These pools of molten fuel can melt through the reactor safety barriers - there is an inner and outer shield. ![]() If that continues for long enough, the nuclear fuel can melt, forming molten pools on the floor of the reactor at thousands of degrees celcius. The Japanese reactors work by harnessing the energy of thousands of nuclear fuel rods, that are normally kept submerged in water to keep them cool.īut if the cooling system fails, the heat generated by the nuclear reaction increases uncontrollably. Officials later admitted that fuel rods are 'highly likely' to be melting in three damaged reactors Fireball: A build-up of hydrogen in Unit Three of Fukushima ignites in a ball of fire that can be seen for miles Smoke: An enormous cloud rises from the site, dwarfing the plant and raising fears of radiation problems Extensive damage: Experts are now debating whether a radiation cloud could reach the West Coast WHAT HAPPENS IN A NUCLEAR MELTDOWN ? 'Meltdown': The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant moments after it was rocked by a second explosion today. There have already been explosions inside two over-heating reactors at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant, and the fuel rods inside a third were partially exposed as engineers desperately fight to keep them cool after the tsunami knocked out systems. There is a risk that molten nuclear fuel can melt through the reactor's safety barriers and cause a serious radiation leak.
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