A few months ago, I described the safety controls that could have saved the 11 lives lost in the BP accident. In this series I will first describe the process used at the Fukushima plant; next I will show the safety controls that could have prevented this tragedy; finally, I will describe the steps that American nuclear power plants should take to protect against the repetition of such accidents, which be triggered by earthquakes along active faults, hurricanes, terrorism, cyber terrorism or other unexpected events.

The regular nuclear power plants are not potential atomic bombs because the fuel is not concentrated sufficiently to explode like a bomb. The main difference between fission plants and fission bombs is that the plant releases the energy continuously, while the bomb releases it all at once. As of today, some 10,000 fission type nuclear weapons are in storage, and plans are to convert their plutonium into nuclear fuel. Some 440 nuclear power plants are in operation around the world (104 in the United States) generating some 7% of the global energy consumption and about 13% of the global electricity consumption.

Currently there are two breeder reactors in operation, one in Beloyarsk, Russia, and the other in Tsuruga, Japan. If in the future, breeder reactors are built, the risks will increase, because their product (plutonium with a half-life of 24,100 years) can be used directly to build bombs. Research is also in progress to build fusion plants, which operate at millions of degrees temperature and continuously release the same energy that hydrogen bombs release all at once.

The main concern with today's nuclear power plants is that in case of a meltdown they release radioactive isotopes (See table below). The safety record of the nuclear industry is good (about a dozen meltdowns occurred during it's 50 years of existence). Based on that record, the probability of meltdowns globally is one per every two years.

With the exception of the two small breeder reactors, today only fission plants are in operation which cannot explode like atomic bombs, but they are still dangerous because they can release radioactive iodine, cesium or plutonium, which cause cancer if inhaled or ingested.

In case of a partial or complete meltdown, the produced plutonium can make the region uninhabitable for thousands of years. At Fukushima, the meltdown amounted to 55% of the core at one, 30% at another reactor and plutonium was found in the soil, but as of this writing, its source was not clearly established. (Ed. note: For current information on the status of the Fukushima reactors, visit the IAEA website.

The Fission Process

The heart of a nuclear power plant is a high-pressure boiler similar to one burning coal, oil or gas. Yet there are major differences between them. One difference is that the fuel is located inside the reactors. The second difference is that this heat source cannot be turned off completely (by inserting the control rods and by stopping the recirculation pumps), but continues to release heat at a 5% rate for a long time. Therefore, continued cooling is required, even after the plant is shut down.

The third difference is that in a nuclear power plant, a serious accident will result if cooling is lost. Finally, the most important difference is that the waste produced in a nuclear reactor still