On Friday, March 11, 2011, Japan was hit with an earthquake that measured 8.9 on the Richter scale. Shortly thereafter, a 13 foot wall of water engulfed the coastal villages and towns. The Fukushima Daichi nuclear power plant, which consists of 6 reactors, was built to withstand the earthquake. When the earthquake hit, three of the reactors were disabled for maintenance. The remaining three were shut down as planned. As the power was out, emergency generators were being used to cool down the decay heat of the fuel that was remaining. When the tsunami hit, it engulfed the generators, causing their shutdown, and stopping any efforts to cool the reactors. The full effects of the Japanese nuclear crisis are not known yet, and they probably will not be known for years. Read the articles below to learn about what happened.

• Time
• ABC
• CNN
• Wired

As you read the articles, answer the following questions:

1. What impact might this accident have on people’s confidence in nuclear power?
2. Is there any evidence that interest in building more nuclear power plants has slowed, either in Japan, or worldwide?
3. Could an accident like this happen in the United States? How can safety plans be strengthened?
4. Does the interest in reducing our dependence on foreign oil justify the risk?

Now, research and write a detailed explanation of how a nuclear power plant works.