Could the Nuclear Power Plants in Japan be a possible threat?

     Recent reports have confirmed more than 3,000 deaths and thousands of missing people during the 9.0 magnitude earthquake and tsunami that Japan endured. Many people are concerned for the damage that was done to the nuclear power plant, located in Fukushima. The tsunami right after the earthquake, made sever damage to the nuclear plants cooling capabilities. This short animation, from New York Times, will demonstrate how the nuclear reactor shuts down and what occurs during a meltdown. The Tokyo Electric Power Co, interviewed by BBC News, had this to say,

“The crisis at the plant - which contains six nuclear reactors - has worsened since the earthquake struck. Explosions rocked the buildings housing reactors one and three on Saturday and Monday.

On Tuesday morning, a third blast hit the building of reactor two, while a fourth damaged the building of reactor four, where a fire also broke out in the unit's spent fuel storage pond.

Reactor four had been shut down before the quake for maintenance, but its spent nuclear fuel rods were still stored on the site.

Officials said the explosions at the first three reactors, and possibly the fourth as well, were caused by a buildup of hydrogen”

This sort of damage to the nuclear plant could be very life threatening. When the nuclear reactors overheat to high temperatures, it slowly releases various amounts of radiation into our atmosphere. If this continues to get out of hand, the radiation could reach unbelievable temperatures that could take the lives of many people living in Japan. Not only that, it would continuously remain in our atmosphere and travel to different parts of the earth. Eventually everyone would experience an increase amount of radiation where they live. This is why it is so crucial for the Tokyo Electric Power Co to keep the Fukushima nuclear plant under control.