One of my favorite days during the program was when we went to the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Powerplant because I learned a lot about nuclear power. While we were there, first, we took a tour of their museum on the nuclear meltdown that happened because of the 2011 Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami. Then we actually got to visit the site of the four nuclear reactors that had meltdowns. To make sure that we did not get exposed to too much radiation while we were there, the staff equipped us with vests and a radiation meter. While we were on the bus on the way to the site, I was struck by how much of the area was underdeveloped, and how only now construction is beginning to occur. Since the meltdown occurred there was a large restricted zone making a lot of residents move away. Many of the residents have not returned out of fear that the radiation will cause adverse health effects, but the staff at the Fukushima Daiichi Powerplant showed us in many ways that this is not true. After the visit they explained that even though we got so close to the nuclear reactors we have been exposed to less than the amount of radiation one is exposed to during a routine x-ray. After the meltdown, there were also concerns that radiation was seeping into the nearby oceans, but the staff at the powerplant explained their immensely detailed dilution process which ensures that the major waterway is not being polluted. They also showed us some water that they took from the actual reactor and told us that they are using the most efficient water purifying process to get rid of the tritium in the water.
They are still working on fully cleaning up and decommissioning the site, but from the images that they showed us of the initial damage, the reactors look a lot better. The fuel rod assemblies have already been removed from units 3 and 4, but it will take many years to remove the fuel from units 1 and 2. Currently, a large cover is being constructed over unit 1, so that the rubble can safely be removed from underneath, and methods of removing the fuel debris from unit 2 are being developed. They also made a wall next to the coast, so that if another tsunami were to happen the damage to the reactors would not be made worse. Overall, this was my favorite day because I learned a lot, and I have always been interested in nuclear incidents like this one and the incident that occurred at Chernobyl.
