Dixie - In Memoriam
New member
Don't be so concrete; the earthquake caused the tsunami, the tsunami cracked the containment vessal= the earthquake wrecked the plant.
A phenomenal natural disaster happened, and it was the combination of an earthquake and subsequent tsunami, which caused a problem at the nuclear power facility. The facility was only built to withstand a category 4 or 5 earthquake, this was much more powerful. The loss of the cooling system due to the tsunami, is ultimately what caused a problem, in the beginning, there were no high levels of radioactivity reported at or around the plant. This means the containment vessel withstood the earthquake itself. That is not, and can not be, why the containment vessel cracked. You see, nuclear rods are extremely hot by nature... this is what produces the energy... if they are not kept cooled down, they will get so hot, they melt through the containment vessel itself. Heat creates conditions in solid matter, for fissions to form...thus a crack is born. It's fairly elementary science.