Timeline of the Fukushima nuclear accident

Fukushima Daiichi I nuclear powerplant site close-up.
Schematic representation of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accidents.
Following the 2011 Japanese Fukushima nuclear disaster, authorities shut down the nation's 54 nuclear power plants. As of 2013, the Fukushima site remains highly radioactive, with some 160,000 evacuees still living in temporary housing, and some land will be unfarmable for centuries. The difficult cleanup job will take 40 or more years, and cost many tens of billions of dollars, with total economic costs estimated at $250–$500 billion.[1][2][3]

Fukushima Daiichi is a multi-reactor nuclear power site in the Fukushima Prefecture of Japan. A nuclear disaster occurred there after a 9.0 magnitude earthquake and subsequent tsunami on 11 March 2011. The earthquake triggered a scram shut down of the three active reactors, and the ensuing tsunami crippled the site, stopped the backup diesel generators, and caused a station blackout. The subsequent lack of cooling led to explosions and meltdowns, with problems at three of the six reactors and in one of the six spent-fuel pools.

Times are given in Japan Standard Time (JST), unless noted, which is UTC plus nine hours.

  1. ^ Richard Schiffman (12 March 2013). "Two years on, America hasn't learned lessons of Fukushima nuclear disaster". The Guardian. London.
  2. ^ Martin Fackler (1 June 2011). "Report Finds Japan Underestimated Tsunami Danger". The New York Times.
  3. ^ Tyler Falk (12 November 2013). "The Staggering Costs to Clean Up Fukushima". smartplanet.com. Retrieved 21 January 2014.