Fukushima nuclear accident

High school (ages 12+)
Environment & Earth

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/fukushima-nuclear-accident

1. How tall is Fukushima nuclear accident?
2. What is the date of major event?
3. What is the location of nuclear facility?
4. What happened at the Fukushima nuclear plant during the earthquake and tsunami?
5. Why did the reactors melt down?

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. How tall is Fukushima nuclear accident?Approximately 40.5 meters (133 feet)
2. What is the date of major event?March 11, 2011
3. What is the location of nuclear facility?Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, Ōkuma, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan
4. What happened at the Fukushima nuclear plant during the earthquake and tsunami?The earthquake caused a huge tsunami that flooded the plant, shutting down both the main power and backup diesel generators. Without power, the cooling systems stopped, leading to reactor meltdowns.
5. Why did the reactors melt down?When the cooling systems failed, heat built up inside the reactors. The fuel rods melted, creating a core melt and releasing dangerous gases.

Core Meltdown: The overheating and melting of nuclear fuel rods within a reactor core due to loss of cooling.
Radioactive Isotopes: Atoms of an element that have an unstable nucleus and emit radiation, such as iodine-131 and cesium-137.
Decommissioning: The process of safely shutting down and dismantling a nuclear facility at the end of its operational life.