The devastating earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan on March 11th led to a crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant that resulted in some radiation contamination of the environment and worldwide media attention and commentary. There are six older-type
Boiling Water Reactors (BWRs) at this site that require cooling systems in order to keep their fuel rods from overheating. While the reactors did turn off during the earthquake, their heat and loss of backup power for the cooling systems has led to some extraordinary measures being taken. These have included water-bombing, mobile water pump spraying and the use of boron-enriched seawater. Some explosions also occurred at the site, probably as a result of hydrogen gas generated at high temperatures by a reaction between the nuclear fuel cladding and steam.
