Fukushima Nuclear Disaster Team Alpha Student1 Name, Student2 Name, Student3 Name, Student4 Name, Student5 Name

● What risks were overlooked in the Fukushima nuclear disaster and what risk controls could have been put in place to avoid this catastrophe? Risk Research Question

Risk Context ● Assets: Critical power infrastructure, Human lives ● Protector: Japanese Government ● Threat: Earthquake and Tsunami

● Friday March 11, 2011, a 9.0 earthquake hit 130km off the coast of Japan ● Quake lasted for about 3 minutes ● As soon as the quake hit, the Fukushima reactors shut down ● Backup generators turned on to start the cooling process. What Happened? World Nuclear Association, 2015

● An hour after the quake, a 15 meter tsunami flooded the backup generator cooling system ● 3 reactors overheated as a result ● Weeks were spent trying to cool down the reactors What Happened? World Nuclear Association, 2015

● Reactors were damaged ● Radioactive material contaminated water ● Government fear ● 100,000 people evacuated (mitigate) ● deaths from evacuation Impact World Nuclear Association, 2015

Likelihood ● Natural Disaster o Perceived Low Likelihood Event Retrieved From: Network.ProjectManagers.net

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● Reactor location o Original plans had reactors 10m above sea level o Lowered to 5.7m when being built (risk appetite raised) o Was considered an acceptable threshold when built o Indicators of previous tsunamis ignored Risk Assessment Failures World Nuclear Association, 2015

●Backup Cooling Power ○ Perceived multi-stage measures, actually single-hit ○ Backup generators not waterproof ○ Earthquake took out main power, created tsunami which took out backup power Risk Assessment Failures World Nuclear Association, 2015, Lipsy 2013

● Ensure one event cannot take out both primary and backup cooling systems ● Create crisis evacuation plans to reduce the likelihood of human deaths ● Routinely create risk assessments on the likelihood of natural disasters ● Restore public trust in government Reinvestigation – Risk Controls Visschers, 2012

● Lipscy, P., Kushida, K., & Incerti, T. (2013, May 16). The Fukushima Disaster and Japan's Nuclear Plant Vulnerability in Comparative Perspective. Retrieved from ● Visschers, V., & Siegrist, M. (2012, July 4). How a Nuclear Power Plant Accident Influences Acceptance of Nuclear Power: Results of a Longitudinal Study Before and After the Fukushima Disaster. Retrieved March 1, 2015, retrieved from x/abstract;jsessionid=3C2C31C419AFD7D05A06725B2CC61DFE.f04t04?deniedA ccessCustomisedMessage=&userIsAuthenticated=false ● Fukushima Accident. (Feb 2015). World-Nuclear. Retrieved from References