Comparison of the Chernobyl and Fukushima nuclear accidents explained

To date, the nuclear accidents at the Chernobyl (1986) and Fukushima Daiichi (2011) nuclear power plants, are the only INES level 7 nuclear accidents.[1] [2]

Chernobyl and Fukushima nuclear accidents

The following table compares the Chernobyl and Fukushima nuclear accidents.

Plant NameChernobylFukushima Daiichi
Location Soviet Union (Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic) 51.3895°N 30.0991°W Japan 37.4255°N 141.0216°W
Date of the accident April 26, 1986 March 11, 2011
INES Level 7 7
Plant commissioning date 1977 1971
Years of operation before the accident 9 years (plant)
40 years (plant)
Electrical output plant (net): 3700 MWe (4 reactors)
reactors (net): 925 MWe (Units 1 - 4)
plant (net): 4546 MWe (6 reactors)
reactors (net): 439 MWe (Unit 1), 760 MWe (Units 2 - 5), 1067 MWe (Unit 6)
Type of reactor RBMK-1000 graphite moderated, 2nd generation reactor without containment BWR-3 and BWR-4 reactors with Mark I containment vessels
Number of reactors 4 on site; 1 involved in accident 6 on site; 4 (and spent fuel pools) involved in accident; one of the four reactors was empty of fuel at the time of the accident.
Amount of nuclear fuel in affected reactors 1 reactor—190 tonnes (t, metric tons = 210 U.S. short tons): spent fuel pools not involved in incident[3] 4 reactors—854 tonnes (t, metric tons): 81 t in Unit 1 reactor, 111 t in Unit 2 reactor, 111 t in Unit 3 reactor, 0 t in Unit 4 reactor (defueled), 59 t in Unit 1 spent fuel pool (SFP), 119 t in Unit 2 SFP, 104 t in Unit 3 SFP, and 269 t in Unit 4 SFP
Cause of the accident Proximate cause was human error and violation of procedures. The unsafe reactor design caused instability at low power due to a positive void coefficient and steam formation. When an improper test was conducted at 1:00 am at low power, the reactor became prompt critical. This was followed by a steam explosion that exposed the fuel, a raging fire, and a core meltdown. The fire lasted for days to weeks, and there is controversy over whether it was the fuel burning, nuclear decay heating or whether the graphite moderator that made up most of the core was involved. See Chernobyl Disaster, Note 1, for more discussion. The plants were not designed with consideration of such a large tsunami concurrently occurring with the ground sinking. Subsequent review did not lead to mitigation. A major earthquake and tsunami caused the destruction of power lines and backup generators. Once the plants were without external power and the generators were flooded, a catastrophic decay heat casualty ensued, leading to major reactor plant damage including meltdowns and explosive loss of reactor containment.
Maximum level of radiation detected 300 Sv/h shortly after the explosion in vicinity of the reactor core.[4] 530 Sv/h inside Unit 2 containment vessel in 2017 according to Japan Times.[5]
Radioactivity released According to IAEA, total release was 14EBq.[6] 5.2EBq in iodine-131 equivalent [7] [8] As of 2014, a peer reviewed estimate of the total was 340 - 780 PBq, with 80% falling into the Pacific Ocean.[9] Radiation continues to be released into the Pacific via groundwater.
Area affected An area up to 500km (300miles) away contaminated, according to the United Nations.[10] [11] [12] Radiation levels exceeding annual limits seen over 60km (40miles) to northwest and 40km (30miles) to south-southwest, according to officials.
Exclusion Zone Area 30 km 20 km (30 km voluntary) extending north-west to 45 km in the downwind direction to Iitate, Fukushima[13]
Population relocated 335,000 (About 115,000 from areas surrounding the reactor in 1986; about 220,000 people from Belarus, the Russian Federation and Ukraine after 1986) 154,000[14]
Population returned None 122,000[15]
Direct fatalities from the accident Two immediate trauma deaths; 28 deaths from Acute Radiation Syndrome out of 134 showing symptoms; four from an industrial accident (helicopter crash); 15 deaths from radiation-genic thyroid cancers (as of 2005);[16] as many as 4000 to 90000 cancer related deaths.[17] 1 confirmed cancer death attributed to radiation exposure by the government for the purpose of compensation following opinions from a panel of radiologists and other experts, medical sources pending for long-term fatalities due to the radiation.
Current status All reactors were shut down by 2000. The damaged reactor was covered by a hastily built steel and concrete structure called the sarcophagus. A New Safe Confinement structure was installed in November 2016, from which the plant will be cleaned up and decommissioned. Cold shutdown declared on 16 December 2011, but decommissioning is likely to take 30 to 40 years.[18] [19] All fuel rods in reactor 4 pool removed. Fukushima disaster cleanup is ongoing.

Radioactive contamination discharge

Report datePlace PeriodIodine-131
(TBq)
Caesium-137
(TBq)
Source
from to from to
2002 Chernobyl 25 April – June 1986 1,600,0001,940,00059,000111,000NEA[20]
22 March 2011 Fukushima 12 – 15 March 2011 400,0003,00030,000ZAMG[21]
2 April 2011 Fukushima 12 – 19 March 2011 10,000700,0011,00070,000ZAMG[22]
12 April 2011 Fukushima 11 March – 5 April[23] 150,00012,000NSC[24]
12 April 2011 Fukushima 11 – 17 March 2011 130,0006,100NISA
7 June 2011 Fukushima 11 – 17 March 2011 160,00015,000NISA[25]
24 Aug. 2011Fukushima11 March – 5 April130,00011,000NSC[26]
15 Sept. 2011FukushimaMarch – September100,000200,00010,00020,000Kantei[27]
Report date Place Period Amount
(TBq)
Source
12 April 2011 Chernobyl 25 April – June 1986 5,200,000NISA
12 April 2011 Fukushima 11 March – 5 April 2011 630,000NSC
12 April 2011 Fukushima 11 – 17 March 2011 370,000NISA
April 2011 Fukushima 4 April 2011 154 NSC
25 April 2011 Fukushima 24 April 2011 24 NSC
6–7 June 2011 Fukushima 11 – 17 March 2011 770,000NISA[28] >
7 June 2011 Fukushima 11 – 17 March 2011 840,000NISA,[29] press printing
17 August 2011 Fukushima 3–16 August 2011 0.07 Government[30]
23 August 2011 Fukushima 12 March - 5 April 2011 630,000NISA[31]
Report datePeriodInto the sea
(TBq)
Source
directindirect
21 May 20111 – 6 April 20114,700Tepco[32]
End of August 2011March – August 20113,50016,000JMA[33]
8 September 2011March – April 2011align=center colspan=215,000Scientist Group[34]
29 October 201121 March – 15 July 2011align=center colspan=227,100IRSN[35]

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: The INES scale . 2023-09-07 . laradioactivite.com . EN.
  2. Web site: Fukushima Daiichi Accident - World Nuclear Association . 2023-09-07 . world-nuclear.org.
  3. Web site: Chernobyl Accident And Its Consequences - Nuclear Energy Institute . 9 April 2017 . www.nei.org . Nuclear Energy Institute. - note that figures were converted into US tons
  4. Web site: B. Medvedev . June 1989 . JPRS Report: Soviet Union Economic Affairs Chernobyl Notebook . dead . https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20110324215518/http://handle.dtic.mil/100.2/ADA335076 . 2011-03-24 . 27 March 2011 . Novy Mir . Republished by the Foreign Broadcast Information Service.
  5. News: 2017-02-03 . Fukushima radiation level highest since March 11 . The Japan Times Online .
  6. Web site: April 1, 2006 . Chernobyl's Legacy: Health, Environmental and Socio-Economic Impacts and Recommendations to the Governments of Belarus, the Russian Federation and Ukraine. The Chernobyl Forum: 2003–2005 Second revised version . Apr 25, 2019 . IAEA.
  7. Book: Three Mile Island, Chernobyl, and Fukushima, A comparison of three nuclear reactor calamities reveals some key differences . Nov 1, 2011 . . 10.1109/MSPEC.2011.6056644.
  8. Web site: Jun 1, 2013 . Chernobyl Accident 1986 . Apr 25, 2019 . World Nuclear Association.
  9. Steinhauser . Georg . Comparison of the Chernobyl and Fukushima nuclear accidents: A review of the environmental impacts . Brandl . Alexander . Johnson . Thomas E. . Science of the Total Environment . 2014 . 470-471 . 800–817 . 2014ScTEn.470..800S . 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2013.10.029 . 24189103.
  10. Web site: 2000 . ANNEX J. Exposures and effects of the Chernobyl accident. . 2019-06-27 . United Nations UNSCEAR.
  11. Web site: 2000 . Figure XI. Surface ground deposition of caesium-137 released in Europe after the Chernobyl accident [D13]. ]. United Nations UNSCEAR Report.
  12. Web site: 2000 . Figure VI. Surface ground deposition of caesium-137 released in the Chernobyl accident [I1, L3]. ]. United Nations UNSCEAR Report.
  13. Web site: February 2016 . Fukushima: Radiation Exposure . 4 February 2017 . World Nuclear Association.
  14. Web site: Reconstruction Agency . 2016-05-25 . www.reconstruction.go.jp.
  15. Web site: Fukushima Residents Return Despite Radiation . 2019-10-06 . www.scientificamerican.com.
  16. Web site: 2011 . Health effects due to radiation from the Chernobyl accident (Annex D of the 2008 UNSCEAR Report) . UNSCEAR.
  17. Web site: WHO | Chernobyl: The true scale of the accident .
  18. News: Kaushik . Kavyanjali . 7 April 2011 . UPDATE 1-Toshiba proposes to scrap Fukushima nuclear plant-Nikkei . Reuters . 27 July 2013.
  19. News: Justin Mccurry . 10 March 2014 . Fukushima operator may have to dump contaminated water into Pacific . The Guardian . 10 March 2014.
  20. 2002, archived from Original on 20 April 2011, retrieved on 6 April 2011.
  21. . ZAMG, 22 March 2011, archived from Original on 20 April 2011, retrieved on 20 April 2011.
  22. . In: www.zamg.ac.at. Zentralanstalt für Meteorologie und Geodynamik, 2 April 2011, archived from Original on 20 April 2011, retrieved on 2 April 2011.
  23. . JAIF / NHK, 26 April 2011, archived from Original on 27 April 2011, retrieved on 27 April 2011.
  24. . NISA/METI, 12 April 2011, archived from Original on 12 April 2011, retrieved on 12 April 2011.
  25. . NISA/Kantei, 7 June 2011, archived from Original, retrieved on 8 June 2011.
  26. . In: Atoms in Japan. JAIF, 5 September 2011, archived from Original, retrieved on 20 December 2011.
  27. . Kantei, 15 September 2011, archived from Original, retrieved on 17 December 2011. Spent fuel pool measurement on page 205, 207, 210 and 214; total release on page 449.
  28. . NHK, 6 June 2011, archived from Original, retrieved on 6 June 2011.
  29. . NISA/Kantei, 7 June 2011, archived from Original, retrieved on 14 June 2011.
  30. . JAIF / NHK, 18 August 2011, archived from Original, retrieved on 21 August 2011. Converted from 200 MBq/h in a two-week period.
  31. https://web.archive.org/web/20111114110137/http://www.jaif.or.jp/english/news_images/pdf/ENGNEWS01_1314074607P.pdf Earthquake Report – JAIF, No. 182
  32. . Tepco, 21 May 2011, archived from Original, retrieved on 23 May 2011.
  33. Dagmar Röhrlich: . In: dradio.de, Forschung Aktuell. Deutschlandfunk, 5 September 2011, archived from Original, retrieved on 7 September 2011; 1 000 000 000 000 Becquerel = 1 TBq.
  34. . JAIF / NHK, 9 September 2011, archived from Original, retrieved on 11 December 2011.
  35. . JAIF / NHK, 30 November 2011, archived from Original, retrieved on 20 December 2011.