14 DAY TRIAL // This past Monday night, the Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan experienced a power failure which translated into several of its systems being unable to continue working.
What people are mainly concerned about is the fact that, according to information shared with the public, the nuclear plant's cooling mechanisms have also ceased to function.
Seeing how these cooling mechanisms are in charge of keeping a relatively low and constant temperature inside pools that store radioactive fuel rods, it need not come as a surprise that both the general public and Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO, for short) wish to see them up and running again as soon as possible.
By the looks of it, three of the plant's seven fuel pools have been affected by this power failure, sources say.
Shortly after the power failure occurred, TEPCO did its best to reassure ordinary folks that the situation was well under control and that it would not be long until the plant's systems were fixed by trained staff.
As far as said pools are concerned, the company stressed that fact that, prior to their being left without their cooling mechanisms, their temperature had been lowered to a considerable extent.
Thus, the pools allegedly now have a temperature of roughly 25 degrees Celsius (about 77 degrees Fahrenheit), which is more than enough to prevent any accidents from happening for a period of at least four days.
More precisely, specialists explain that these fuel pools only become unsafe when their temperatures hit approximately 65 degrees Celsius (roughly 149 degrees Fahrenheit).
However, it is their belief that the cooling mechanisms will be made to once again function long before that happens.
For the time being, no abnormal radiation levels have been reported in the area. Still, it is to be expected that the nuclear plant and its surroundings will continue to be closely monitored, at least until this incident is properly dealt with.