Fourteen years after the devastating earthquake and tsunami led to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident, the site has made tangible progress in lowering radiation levels. Yet, as the Associated Press (AP) recently reported from the ground, the cleanup inside the damaged reactor buildings remains an immense challenge.
Workers who enter the most hazardous areas still face the “nervous and rushed” conditions described by a team member, pushing through in full protective gear to avoid potentially dangerous radiation exposure.
Today, much of the facility can be navigated with only a surgical mask and everyday work attire. But this was not always the case. On March 11, 2011, Japan faced one of the most powerful earthquakes ever recorded: the 9.0-magnitude Great East Japan Earthquake. It shifted the Earth off its axis and unleashed a 15-meter tsunami onto the eastern coast of Honshu, claiming more than 18,000 lives and erasing entire towns.
Located roughly 97 kilometers from the quake’s epicenter, the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant shut down its reactors immediately after the temblor. Diesel generators switched on to cool the reactor cores, which remained dangerously hot even after the automatic shutdown. However, the tsunami soon inundated the plant, knocking out critical cooling systems and causing catastrophic core meltdowns in Units 1, 2, and 3.
Although Unit 4 was already offline for maintenance and had its fuel removed, it suffered severe damage from a hydrogen explosion. Units 5 and 6 were in a cold shutdown state at the time and had a functional air-cooled generator, enabling them to remain relatively stable. Still, the lasting damage to the other reactors set off the worst nuclear accident since Chernobyl, triggering widespread evacuations and contamination of the surrounding region.
In the 14 years since a massive cleanup effort has gradually contained radiation, but the interior of the damaged reactor buildings remains perilous. According to AP reporting, workers venturing into the reactor buildings with melted fuel debris must wear full facemasks equipped with filters, multi-layered gloves, socks, hooded hazmat coveralls, waterproof jackets, and helmets.
