The Fukushima Daiichi Accident - IAEA

1 PO Box 100, Vienna international Centre1400 Vienna, AustriaPrinted in AustriaISBN 978 92 0 107015 9 (set)The Fukushima Daiichi AccidentTechnical Volume 1/5 Description and Context of the AccidentTechnical Volume 1/5 Description and Context of the Accident1 The Fukushima Daiichi Accidenti THE Fukushima Daiichi Accident TECHNICAL VOLUME 1 DESCRIPTION AND CONTEXT OF THE Accident AFGHANISTANALBANIAALGERIAANGOLAARGENTINA ARMENIAAUSTRALIAAUSTRIAAZERBAIJANBAHAMAS BAHRAINBANGLADESHBELARUSBELGIUMBELIZEBEN INBOLIVIA, PLURINATIONAL STATE OFBOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINABOTSWANABRAZILBRUNEI DARUSSALAMBULGARIABURKINA FASOBURUNDICAMBODIACAMEROONCANADACENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLICCHADCHILECHINACOLOMBIACONGOCOSTA RICAC TE D IVOIRECROATIACUBACYPRUSCZECH REPUBLICDEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGODENMARKDJIBOUTIDOMINICADOMINICAN REPUBLICECUADOREGYPTEL SALVADORERITREAESTONIAETHIOPIAFIJIFINLAN DFRANCEGABONGEORGIAGERMANYGHANAGREECEGUA TEMALAGUYANAHAITIHOLY SEEHONDURASHUNGARYICELANDINDIAINDONESIAI RAN, ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF IRAQIRELANDISRAELITALYJAMAICAJAPANJORDAN KAZAKHSTANKENYAKOREA.

2 REPUBLIC OFKUWAITKYRGYZSTANLAO PEOPLE S DEMOCRATIC REPUBLICLATVIALEBANONLESOTHOLIBERIALIBYA LIECHTENSTEINLITHUANIALUXEMBOURGMADAGASC ARMALAWIMALAYSIAMALIMALTAMARSHALL ISLANDSMAURITANIAMAURITIUSMEXICOMONACOMO NGOLIAMONTENEGROMOROCCOMOZAMBIQUEMYANMAR NAMIBIANEPALNETHERLANDSNEW ZEALANDNICARAGUANIGERNIGERIANORWAYOMANPA KISTANPALAUPANAMAPAPUA NEW GUINEAPARAGUAYPERUPHILIPPINESPOLANDPORTU GALQATARREPUBLIC OF MOLDOVAROMANIARUSSIAN FEDERATIONRWANDASAN MARINOSAUDI ARABIASENEGALSERBIASEYCHELLESSIERRA LEONESINGAPORESLOVAKIASLOVENIASOUTH AFRICASPAINSRI LANKASUDANSWAZILANDSWEDENSWITZERLANDSYRI AN ARAB REPUBLICTAJIKISTANTHAILANDTHE FORMER YUGOSLAV REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIATOGOTRINIDAD AND TOBAGOTUNISIATURKEYUGANDAUKRAINEUNITED ARAB EMIRATESUNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN AND NORTHERN IRELANDUNITED REPUBLIC OF TANZANIAUNITED STATES OF AMERICAURUGUAYUZBEKISTANVENEZUELA, BOLIVARIAN REPUBLIC OF VIET NAMYEMENZAMBIAZIMBABWEThe following States are Members of the international atomic energy agency :The agency s Statute was approved on 23 October 1956 by the Conference on the Statute of the iaea held at United Nations Headquarters, New York; it entered into force on 29 July 1957.

3 The Headquarters of the agency are situated in Vienna. Its principal objective is to accelerate and enlarge the contribution of atomic energy to peace, health and prosperity throughout the world .iii THE Fukushima Daiichi Accident TECHNICAL VOLUME 1 DESCRIPTION AND CONTEXT OF THE Accident COPYRIGHT NOTICE All iaea scientific and technical publications are protected by the terms of the Universal Copyright Convention as adopted in 1952 (Berne) and as revised in 1972 (Paris). The copyright has since been extended by the World Intellectual Property Organization (Geneva) to include electronic and virtual intellectual property. Permission to use whole or parts of texts contained in iaea publications in printed or electronic form must be obtained and is usually subject to royalty agreements.

4 Proposals for non-commercial reproductions and translations are welcomed and considered on a case-by-case basis. Enquiries should be addressed to the iaea Publishing Section at: Marketing and Sales Unit, Publishing Section international atomic energy agency Vienna international Centre PO Box 100 1400 Vienna, Austria Fax: +43 1 2600 29302 Tel.: +43 1 2600 22417 Email: iaea , 2015 Printed by the iaea in Austria August 2015 STI/PUB/1710 iaea Library Cataloguing in Publication Data The Fukushima Daiichi Accident Vienna : international atomic energy agency , 2015. v. ; 30 cm. STI/PUB/1710 ISBN 978 92 0 107015 9 (set) Includes bibliographical references. 1. Nuclear reactor accidents Analysis. 2. Nuclear power plants Accidents Analysis.

5 3. Nuclear reactor accidents Japan Radioactive pollution Health aspects Japan Radioactive waste management. 6. Emergency management. I. international atomic energy agency . IAEAL 15 00988 v EDITORIAL NOTE This publication has been prepared from contributions submitted by many international experts to the five Working Groups for the preparation of the technical volumes. The content does not necessarily reflect the views of iaea Member States, or the organizations nominating experts.

6 Great care has been taken to maintain the accuracy of information contained in this publication. Neither the iaea , nor its Member States, however, assume any responsibility for consequences that may arise from its use, nor are any warranties made of any kind in connection with this publication. This publication is not intended to address issues of responsibility, legal or otherwise, for acts or omissions on the part of any person or entity. Extracts from this publication may be freely used elsewhere, provided that acknowledgement of the source is made. If any attribution in this publication indicates that the information (including photographs and graphics) is from a source or site external to the iaea , permission for reuse must be sought from the originating source.

7 The use of particular designations of countries or territories does not imply any judgement by the iaea as to the legal status of such countries or territories, or of the delimitation of their boundaries, or of their authorities and institutions. The mentioning of names of specific companies or products, whether or not indicated as registered, does not imply any intention to infringe proprietary rights, nor should it be construed as an endorsement or recommendation on the part of the iaea . The iaea assumes no responsibility for the accuracy or continued existence of URLs for external or third party Internet web sites referred to in this publication and does not guarantee that any content on such web sites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate.

8 Vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Financial assistance was provided by Canada, Japan, the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom and the United States of America. In-kind contributions were received from Argentina, Australia, Belarus, Brazil, Canada, China, Cuba, the Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Ghana, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, Morocco, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Pakistan, the Philippines, Poland, the Russian Federation, Slovakia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the Syrian Arab Republic, Turkey, Ukraine, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, the United Republic of Tanzania and the United States of America. In-kind contributions were also received from the European Commission, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the international Commission on Radiological Protection, the international Labour Organization, the international Nuclear Safety Group, the OECD Nuclear energy agency , the United Nations scientific Committee on the Effects of atomic Radiation, the World Association of Nuclear Operators and the World Meteorological Organization.

9 The Government of Japan provided invaluable support by making available a considerable amount of information, arranging for Japanese experts to support the work on the report and ensuring logistical assistance for bilateral meetings in Japan. The United Nations scientific Committee on the Effects of atomic Radiation supported the iaea by sharing the relevant database of references from its 2013 report and allowing information and figures from this report to be reproduced. The iaea thanks the large number of experts who were involved in this report. It is the result of the dedicated efforts of many people. All participants listed at the end of this technical volume made valuable contributions, but a particularly heavy load was borne by the Co-Chairs and coordinators of the working groups.

10 The efforts of many expert reviewers, including members of the international Technical Advisory Group, are also gratefully acknowledged. vii THE REPORT ON THE Fukushima Daiichi Accident At the iaea General Conference in September 2012, the Director General announced that the iaea would prepare a report on the Fukushima Daiichi Accident . He later stated that this report would be an authoritative, factual and balanced assessment, addressing the causes and consequences of the Accident , as well as lessons learned .1 The report is the result of an extensive international collaborative effort involving five working groups with about 180 experts from 42 Member States (with and without nuclear power programmes) and several international bodies.