What happened at the Fukushima plant after the 2011 tsunami?

• A. The plant was rebuilt and expanded with a new design
• B. The reactor underwent a minor fault with no releases
• C. The incident caused a localized power outage with no environmental impact
• D. After the 2011 tsunami, the Fukushima power plant was destroyed, releasing lots of radioactivity into the environment

Answer: (D)

When cooling is lost in a nuclear reactor after a tsunami, the result can be catastrophic because the fuel rods overheat and can melt. At Fukushima Daiichi in 2011, the tsunami knocked out essential power and cooling systems, so several reactors overheated, cores melted, and hydrogen explosions damaged buildings. Radioactive materials were released into the air and surrounding sea, and the site required large-scale evacuations and long-term environmental monitoring. This sequence—severe damage at the plant plus significant releases of radioactivity into the environment—best matches what happened. The other options describe far less impact and don’t reflect the real environmental consequences of the disaster.