The Fukushima nuclear disaster that occurred in March, 2011in Japan as the result of the earthquake and tsunami led to a number of the serious problems and energy disruption. The 9.0 magnitude earthquake and tsunami hit the country, becoming the worst catastrophe since the World War II.
The public reaction on this event was expectedly sharp. While many people suppose that Fukushima could become the second Chernobyl, the scientists say about the existence of possible instruments that could prevent such situations.
Today, the scientific researches provide the various technical instruments that could help preventing such disasters. Ness says about an inadequate security in the nuclear sector. As the U.S. National Academy of Engineering indicates the electrification as the most valuable achievement of the XX century, the lack of security services in this area is a very dangerous issue (Ness, 2006, p. 1).
The most common instruments of the earthquakes prediction are seismographs that help scientists to see the smallest oscillations, measuring the frequency and amplitude of the waves. Certain kind of weather can be considered as a precondition for earthquake such as flashing lights and fireballs. However, many geologists say about the impossibility of the correlation between weather and earthquake.
Modern technologies such as a high precision GPS, laser scanning machines and synthetic aperture radar can measure the oscillations in the ground. The industrial control system provides the computer monitoring of infrastructure. It is a part of supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA).
This system tracks the various facilities such as Remote Terminal Units (RTUs) and programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs) that help measuring the various conditions and parameters, using the several types of sensors. SCADA is a significant part of the security system.
The nuclear power protection is a complicated issue that requires the establishment of the modern infrastructure such as the nuclear regulatory body (“Basic Infrastructure for a Nuclear Power Project”, 2006). It is highly important to provide an adequate supply of the cooling water to the reactor core in order to remove the heat.
In case of Fukushima this technical characteristic was far from the level required. Although the disaster that occurred in Japan is based on the natural catastrophe and could not be prevented as well as the disaster based on the human carelessness or lack of modern technologies, the instruments of prevention should be developed more carefully.
The consequences of this disaster led to the spreading of radiation around the world, including the United States, Canada, Russia and Europe. The large cloud of the radioactive elements spread under the Pacific Ocean. The public reaction to the situation demonstrates a perturbation of the world community about the problem of nuclear safety.
Many countries provide re-evaluation of the national nuclear programs and reduction of the power plants. In a response of the disaster, the leader of German engineering Siemens emphasized the importance of reduction of building of the nuclear power plants around the world. The consequences of the disaster in Japan led to the mass protests against a production of the nuclear energy in several countries such as Germany and France.
It was expected that the stock markets demonstrated the sharp reaction and the Japanese energy companies faced with the reduction of the bonds’ value. International Atomic Energy Agency and the World Meteorological Organization expressed the concern about the disaster and offer to provide more strict methods of prevention.
Fukushima as the one of the largest nuclear power stations in the world has the modern technologies. However, there are some issues in our life that cannot be predicted.
Nevertheless, the nuclear security and safety is one of the most important questions in the society that have to be considered as the most valuable area for the financial invitations. The use of modern technical instruments can help preventing a number of problems. Therefore, this question should not be neglected by the world governments.
Reference List
Basic Infrastructure for a Nuclear Power Project. (2006). International Atomic Energy Agency. Retrieved from https://www-pub.iaea.org/mtcd/publications/pdf/te_1513_web.pdf
Ness, L. (2006). Security Utility and Energy Infrastructures (1st Ed.). US: Wiley and Sons Publication.