I am a retired professional having spent almost my working life operating and maintaining nuclear power plants. Most but not all of the people that write articles and speak on this disaster are anti nuclear power activists who know just enough to write an informative sounding piece that they can profit off of in some way. But the truth is that they are right whether they actually know what they are talking about or not. But most of them do not know or understand where the real danger lies and what the real threat is. Sure there were reactors that melted down, and at least one of them breached the containment and part of the core has been lost into the soil under the facility and is leaching large amounts of contamination into the ocean. But the real threat that is a disaster yet to occur concerns the Spent Fuel Pools located at the facility.
These large swimming pool like containers are normally kept in a very controlled and monitored environment, and that was all wrecked during the initial phases of this disaster. Fuel was never supposed to be stored long term at these nuclear plants, it was much too dangerous for that. This was just supposed to be short term storage until the world found a final solution for its disposal, but that solution has never come. So when the temporary storage pools became full of fuel, they simply built more of them, or expanded the existing ones.
Now every nuclear power plant in the world is home to the most deadly toxins in the world, and if not contained and cared for properly they will poison the planet. If those fuel cells are are not cooled, or if the water drains out of them, then their will be a big fire similar in nature to burning magnesium that will send giant billows of those deadly toxins high into the atmosphere. One small particle is enough to kill you in time, and it will fall to earth wherever the rain and wind takes it.
The problem at Fukushima is that these pools were severely damaged and the building infrastructure and support around them was compromised or destroyed. The fuel is too damaged, to heavy, and too radioactive to remove from the pools and be transferred to another location. Thus all of those deadly toxins are still sitting there poised precariously on top of a decaying pile of scrap. If a big enough hole develops in the pool due to corrosion or some further damage, then the water will drain out and the fuel will catch on fire. If another earthquake occurs and the ground shifts significantly then the pools may turn over and spill out its deadly contents, and it will burn wherever it lands.
At the moment there is not much that they can do for either the melted cores or the spent fuel except try to contain them as much as possible and try to build infrastructure around them. In order to return the area to any kind of a safe condition they are going to have to invent giant shielded robots that are strong enough to handle many tons of weight. How they will stabilize the ground underneath them so that they can work is beyond the scope of my imagination. It is my impression that this is their long term goal though, they simply are trying to stabilize the fuel pools as best they can, build infrastructure around them, and wait on technological advances that will allow them to remove the fuel to a safer location.
I don't recommend that anyone move to Japan any time soon, and if you visit I would steer clear of that area.
It's great to have a commenter who is aware of and understands the technical issues. The point of the post was to remind people that this disaster is still ongoing and likely will be for decades. As you say another earthquake would be catastrophic, possibly meaning a massive area would need to be evacuated for generations.
I spent time in Japan during the 1990s and they are a uniquely proud and brave people, they won't want to walk away from the problem and I fear many are going to suffer and die trying to sort it out. Fukushima is a global disaster and the whole world should be getting together to come up with a solution, it's in all of our interests. If the Pacific Ocean is damaged so much the fish are inedible then the whole of the Pacific rim is in more trouble than we can even imagine. Thanks for your great insight and comment.
The fact that it is a global disaster that required a united effort of the worlds citizens to combat is exactly what I preached from day one. I mouthed off on forums and to anyone who would listen. But sadly the Government of Japan and the management of TEPCO decided to try and contain the problem themselves and hide the severity and danger involved, God will judge them for this. They also disgraced the great heroes that stayed at the plant throughout the disaster and fought to prevent total destruction and a complete loss of Japan from being a Country. These men and women never got the recognition that they deserved and were likely outcast, their bodies damaged and ill for the rest of their life because of the things that they suffered through and the battles that they fought to save what they could. I am a nobody, just a trained operator and maintenance man, but I've been outraged and very sad all these years because the people who are somebody and leaders in the industry have never spoken out or demanded action. The silence from the nuclear community has been deafening! It is because they are afraid, and the truth is one day going to catch up with them.
Well said, a number of American sailors have lost there lives too. It's a disgrace as you rightly state.