Fukushima: What Went Wrong?

{
  "authors": [
    "Mark Hibbs"
  ],
  "type": "legacyinthemedia",
  "centerAffiliationAll": "dc",
  "centers": [
    "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace"
  ],
  "collections": [],
  "englishNewsletterAll": "ctw",
  "nonEnglishNewsletterAll": "",
  "primaryCenter": "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace",
  "programAffiliation": "NPP",
  "programs": [
    "Nuclear Policy"
  ],
  "projects": [],
  "regions": [
    "East Asia",
    "Japan"
  ],
  "topics": [
    "Nuclear Policy",
    "Nuclear Energy"
  ]
}

In The Media

Fukushima: What Went Wrong?

Although Japan's Fukushima reactors have been shut down, their fuel rods still need to cool down, so that the remaining water meant to cool the core does not boil and expose the radioactive rods.

By Mark Hibbs

Published on Mar 11, 2011

Source: CBC Radio

In reaction to the earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan, the Fukushima boiling water reactors automatically shut down. However, within the first few hours, the site’s main cooling system failed to function properly. Though the nuclear chain reaction is no longer proceeding, the fuel rods still need to cool, explained Carnegie’s Mark Hibbs on CBC Radio. The fuel is surrounded by water, which is supposed to act as a coolant. However, Hibbs said, if the water around the core were to boil, then the fuel would be exposed. Though Japan has an advanced nuclear energy industry, this crisis prompts a need to reconsider whether older equipment, such as that used in the Fukushima reactors, is seismically sound.

About the Author

Mark Hibbs

Nonresident Senior Fellow, Nuclear Policy Program

Hibbs is a Germany-based nonresident senior fellow in Carnegie’s Nuclear Policy Program. His areas of expertise are nuclear verification and safeguards, multilateral nuclear trade policy, international nuclear cooperation, and nonproliferation arrangements.

Recent Work

Article
Dimming Prospects for U.S.-Russia Nonproliferation Cooperation
- +1
  Toby Dalton, Mark Hibbs, Nicole Grajewski, …
Commentary
What Comes After Russia’s Attack on a Ukrainian Nuclear Power Station?
- Mark Hibbs

Nuclear Policy Nuclear Energy East Asia Japan

Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.

More Work from Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

Paper
Demystifying the Nuclear Threshold
The nuclear weapons threshold is increasingly important for proliferation strategy and policy. Policymakers should better understand the implications of the threshold phenomenon in the current international security environment and plausible strategies to deal with the growing challenge that it presents.
Ariel (Eli) Levite, Toby Dalton
Paper
Nuclear Weapons and the Future of American Power
It seems likely that, no matter what, the power of the U.S. nuclear arsenal will face erosion, not least in the credibility of its commitments to defend allies and the political durability of those alliances.
James M. Acton, Ankit Panda
Commentary
President Lee Jae Myung: A Year in Power
President Lee marked his first year in office after one of the most tumultuous periods in South Korean politics. Though Lee has enjoyed a high approval rating, a large majority in the National Assembly, and foreign policy victories, Lee and his party’s political fortunes depend on generating economic growth, learning the right lessons from the recent local elections, and managing contentious factional strife within his political base.
Chung Min Lee
Commentary
Emissary
The Latest Iran Deal Ignores the Lessons of the Past
By burying disagreements in imprecision, the new deal risks same fate as its predecessors.
James M. Acton
Commentary
Strategic Europe
Taking the Pulse: Is European Diplomacy on Iran Outdated?
When the U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding was announced, the UK, France, Germany, and Italy declared their readiness to help demine the Strait of Hormuz and lift nuclear sanctions on Tehran. But does Europe need new tools to recover a diplomatic role?
Rym Momtaz, ed.

More Work from Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (C) visits the Natanz uranium enrichment facilities April 8, 2008

Paper

Demystifying the Nuclear Threshold

The nuclear weapons threshold is increasingly important for proliferation strategy and policy. Policymakers should better understand the implications of the threshold phenomenon in the current international security environment and plausible strategies to deal with the growing challenge that it presents.

Ariel (Eli) Levite, Toby Dalton

1990s USS Pennsylvania United States Navy Nuclear Powered Ohio-Class Ballistic Missile Submarine Cruising On Ocean Surface

Paper

Nuclear Weapons and the Future of American Power

It seems likely that, no matter what, the power of the U.S. nuclear arsenal will face erosion, not least in the credibility of its commitments to defend allies and the political durability of those alliances.

James M. Acton, Ankit Panda

Commentary

President Lee Jae Myung: A Year in Power

President Lee marked his first year in office after one of the most tumultuous periods in South Korean politics. Though Lee has enjoyed a high approval rating, a large majority in the National Assembly, and foreign policy victories, Lee and his party’s political fortunes depend on generating economic growth, learning the right lessons from the recent local elections, and managing contentious factional strife within his political base.

Chung Min Lee

Three people standing outside a fancy building

Commentary

Emissary

The Latest Iran Deal Ignores the Lessons of the Past

By burying disagreements in imprecision, the new deal risks same fate as its predecessors.

James M. Acton

Commentary

Strategic Europe

Taking the Pulse: Is European Diplomacy on Iran Outdated?

When the U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding was announced, the UK, France, Germany, and Italy declared their readiness to help demine the Strait of Hormuz and lift nuclear sanctions on Tehran. But does Europe need new tools to recover a diplomatic role?

Rym Momtaz, ed.