Thirteen nuclear reactors sited within 130km of the epicentre of a seismic event measuring 8.9 on the Richter scale. It's got to be a recipe for disaster, right?

That 53 nuclear reactors were constructed on an island with a history of seismic activity will probably stun and amaze our grandchildren. The Darwin awards provide many testaments to human stupidity, but who are the real fools for letting politicians gamble away our future by allowing the construction of nuclear "facilities"?

A sobering thought to think that Milnerton, the centre of it's own seismic event in 1809 is a mere 12 km away from Koeberg.

There are three operating nuclear "facilities" (pending disasters: de-pending on timescale for them to become disasterous) near the epicentre of the Sendai Earthquake (Japan's worst earthquake, and apparently of the five most powerful in the world since modern records began in 1900):

• Fukushima I (Fukushima Dai-ichi) complex comprises 6 reactors, run by Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) in the town of Okuma.
• Fukushima II (Fukushima Dai-ni), is 12km to the south in the town of Naraha and Tomioka, comprises 4 reactors, and is also run by TEPCO.
• Onagawa nuclear power plant is located in the town with the same name, operated by Tohoku Electric Power Company, and comprises 3 reactors.

Together, these three plants with their 13 reactors, have a capacity of 10 298M MW (nearly a quarter of SA's total electricity capacity). Koeberg by comparison has a capacity of 1800 MW).

Anatomy of a nuclear disaster
Here is a brief summary of events at Fukushima Daiichi:

When the earthquake struck, reactors 1, 2, 3 of Fukushima Daiichi were in operation and began automatically shutting down (Reactors 4, 5, 6 were co-incidently being maintained and were already shutdown). Power supplies to the site were cut, which prevented reactor cooling pumps from removing the decay heat that reactors continue to produce for some days. Although diesel generators were started, these failed due to effects of the tsunami. Accordingly, the Japanese government declared an "atomic power emergency" and evacuated thousands of residents living close to Fukushima I.

On Saturday (12 Mar) afternoon, Japanese time, there was a hydrogen explosion at Reactor 1 blowing away the upper shell of the reactor building, leaving a steel frame. Experts think that the hydrogen formed inside the reactor vessel because of falling water levels, it was leaked into the containment building, and should have been safely ignited before reaching explosive concentrations (but the safety systems couldn't be operated as there was no electrical power).

Officials maintained there were no large leaks of radioactive material, but an increase was confirmed following the explosion. Radiation levels at the site were reported to be 1,015 micro Sieverts / hour. This is roughly equivalent to 100 millirems/hour. The allowable annual dose for members of the public from nuclear facilities in the U.S. is 100 millirems/year.

At 20:05 on Saturday night, according to the nuclear regulation act and to the directives of the Prime Minister, the Japanese government ordered seawater to be used in Reactor 1 in an effort to cool down the degraded reactor core. Filling the reactor with seawater will contaminate the reactor with impure water, a substance not usually allowed in reactors, meaning the reactor will likely be decommissioned, since it is not cost effective to decontaminate.

Meanwhile back at Reactor #3

Unlike the other five reactor units, reactor 3 runs on mixed uranium and plutonium oxide, or MOX fuel, making it potentially more dangerous in an incident due to the "neutronic effects of plutonium on the reactor and the carcinogenic effects in the event of release to the environment."

Early yesterday morning (13 Mar), a Japan nuclear official told a news conference that the emergency cooling system of Unit 3 had failed, spurring an urgent search for a means to supply cooling water to the reactor vessel in order to prevent a meltdown of its reactor core. At 05:38 there was no means of adding coolant to the reactor due to loss of power. Work to restore power and vent pressure continued. At one point, the top three meters of mixed oxide (MOX) fuel rods were exposed to the air.

Venting of radioactive steam had to take place and water containing boric acid was injected into the primary containment vessel using a firepump. Water levels continued to fall and pressure leves continued to rise.

At 11:15 JST on 14 March 2011, a building surrounding Reactor 3 of Fukushima 1 exploded as well, presumably due to the ignition of built up hydrogen gas. Within minutes, it was reported that as with reactor 1, the outer reactor building was blown apart, but the inner containment vessel was not breached.

What of Fukushima Dai-ni?

Tokyo Electric reported on Saturday that the "pressure suppression function was lost", but has apparently not had had to vent any pressure. Although the announcement that a worker operating a crane on the exhaust stack had died, makes it sound as if the whole truth is not being told. It is also curious that an evacuation order was given to people living within 3km, later extended to 10k, if there is no radioactivity.

And Onagawa?

Apparently the most quickly constructed nuclear power plant in the world, and fully conforming to ISO 14001 (environmental management standards!)

A fire from the turbine section of the plant following the 2011 Sendai earthquake was reported by Kyodo News. Yesterday levels of radiation reached 21 micro-sieverts/hour, but is assumed to have increased because of incidents at the Fukushima I reactors. The IAEA announced that the radiation levels have returned to normal background levels.

Evacuations
Japanese officials are playing down any health risks, but the US has moved one of its aircraft carriers from the area after detecting low-level radiation 100 miles (160km) offshore.

According to the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) 170 000 people have been ordered to evacuate out of a 20 km radius surrounding Dai-ichi and another 30 000 people were moved away from Dai-ni.

"We had been told by the nuclear power plant people that it's 100 percent safe no matter what typhoon or tsunami, but I am worried about radiation exposure." 73-year-old carpenter Masao Takahashi [fear finally takes hold among japan's nuclear faithful]

Any conclusions here?
Whilst Japanese engineering can be lauded, even the most ingenious systems cannot be foolproof or nature proof as we've seen with these catastrophic events.

Contrast the engineering required to produce a renewable energy powered grid. No failsafe, containment zones, venting, no nuclear waste, no population dying protracted deaths due to radiation poisoning. No lies or cover-ups.

How to recognise green energy? It does the least possible harm to the environment and to living beings. Nukes are not green.