Fukushima Clean-up: 14 Years After the Meltdown, Challenges Remain
Fukushima Clean-up: 14 Years After the Meltdown, Challenges Remain The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster, triggered by the devastating earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011, remains one of the most challenging nuclear clean-up operations in history. More than a decade later, the progress has been significant, but the road to full recovery is still long and arduous. The complexity of decontamination, fuel removal, and environmental rehabilitation presents immense technical, financial, and political challenges. The Immediate Aftermath: A Crisis Unfolds A magnitude 9.0 earthquake triggered a massive tsunami, leading to power loss and reactor meltdowns at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. Radiation leaks forced mass evacuations, affecting over 150,000 residents. Initial containment efforts included water injection, debris removal, and radiation shielding. "We were in complete darkness, both literally and metaphorically, in those first few days," said a plant worker...