A nuclear emergency in Japan due to damage to a nuclear power plant as a result of the earthquake and tsunami

So far, about 3,000 people living within a radius of three kilometers from the reactor core have been evacuated * To release the increasing pressure inside the nuclear reactor, the operators will release some radioactive steam from the reactor

This article was written on 12/3/2011 shortly after midnight and updated at 12:30 noon.

In the last few hours, the Japanese government declared for the first time in its history a "nuclear emergency" after the pressure rose in Reactor No. 1 at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, this following the power cut and the failure of an emergency generator that was supposed to operate the reactor's cooling system.
So far, about 3,000 people living within a radius of three kilometers from the reactor core have been evacuated, while all those living within a radius of up to ten kilometers have been instructed to stay inside their homes and take precautions. To reduce the increasing pressure inside the nuclear reactor, the operators released some radioactive steam from the reactor. In the morning it was reported that an explosion was heard and a cloud of smoke began to rise above the reactor. However, the Japanese calmed down and claimed that there was no danger of a nuclear leak. It was also reported that the US supplied Japan with coolant for reactors damaged by the strong earthquake.

The Tokyo Electric Company, which operates the forty-year-old reactor about 270 kilometers northeast of Tokyo, reported mechanical problems in the cooling system, although the reactor's automatic shutdown system during earthquakes worked as planned. When the reaction in the reactor core is shut down, the heat production process stops, but the decomposition of the fuel continues to produce residual heat and its continuous cooling is required. The cooling system operates on a continuous flow of water that takes the heat from the nuclear rods, but the pumping system requires electricity to operate even after the reactor itself, the main electricity supplier in the area does not generate electricity usually from generators powered by diesel or natural gas. The backup generator is the one that failed, causing the whole mishap.

Avi Steinberg, a graduate of Tel-Aviv University, explains in his thesis, which is titled "Overheating of the core despite proper shutdown of the reactor following the failure of the emergency cooling system" From 2002, that "the core of the reactor is placed in a pool of water, when the water in the pool is supposed to remove the aforementioned heat by natural convection. However, in case the water level in the pool drops (for various reasons) there is a danger of exposing the core to the air which could cause the core to melt. The core of the nuclear reactor consists of the fuel rod casing (usually made of aluminum) and the fuel rods containing fissile material (usually uranium)."

"Exposing the core to air and melting as a result of warming has several devastating consequences. The first is in the state of core melting, the molten materials (now in a liquid phase) and at a very high temperature are expected to melt everything in their path and seep into the ground ("the Chinese syndrome") below the reactor structure. As a result, radioactive materials will be absorbed into the soil. Most of the material will stop and remain in the ground, but a small part will find its way to the ground or to the water reservoirs (groundwater) and will endanger the environment for a period of tens to hundreds of years."

"The second is tied to a seal, the reactor core is placed inside a seal - an artificially sealed and monitored structure whose function is to isolate the radiation emitted from the core from the open atmosphere. The molten core materials may cause a "STEAM EXPLOSION", a phenomenon in which the molten material seeps through into the cooling water, causing the water to immediately heat up to high temperatures and turn it into steam. If the entire system later collapses, Steinberg explains, there will be an emission of a large amount of materials and radioactive radiation into the environment, and the contamination can spread in a radius of tens to hundreds of kilometers.

As I recall, it all started yesterday - March 11, 2011, at 15:45 local time (07:45 Israel time), when a strong earthquake with a magnitude of 8.9 on the Richter scale hit the coast of northern Japan. This is probably the strongest earthquake to hit Japan since measurements began. The earthquake was followed by tsunami waves not only in Japan but throughout the Pacific Ocean basin, although the waves weakened when they reached Hawaii and even more when they reached the west coast of the continental United States. However, at this time there is a fear that the bulk of the surge made its way directly to the south and during the night (ours) they may hit Easter Island and the coast of Chile.
Beep, the water pulled everything in its path - houses, cars, bridges and many rock fragments.
So far about a thousand deaths are reported, and an unknown number of people are still missing.