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Melting Sun

The History of Nuclear Power in Japan and the Disaster at Fukushima Daiichi

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Melting Sun

By: Andrew Leatherbarrow
Narrated by: Nick Gallagher
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About this listen

Almost 24 hours to the minute since the tsunami hit Fukushima Daiichi, Unit 1 exploded. The building wrenched apart, sending shards of irradiated concrete and metal knifing through the air in all directions. The reactor’s massive heavy-duty gantry crane bent like a twig and collapsed onto the refueling floor control room, crushing everything that wasn’t expelled in the blast. Outside, chunks of debris rained down on the fire crew, injuring five and shredding the hoses they had just laid. Among the injured was the plant’s own fire chief, whose arm snapped when a piece of steel hurtled through the window.

In March 2011, a 15-metre tsunami wiped out long stretches of Japanese coastline, killing thousands. Flooded cooling systems at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant failed as hundreds of men and women battled to save three reactors from destruction in what became the most expensive industrial accident of all time.

Melting Sun spans 150 years of little-known history to retell how Japan evolved from the first victim of atomic energy to its most passionate supporter. It is a story of innovation and determination, but also of collusion, deception, overconfidence, failure, and ultimately, death. From a nuclear ship stranded at sea after leaking radiation on its maiden voyage and to the unimaginable final days of two men treated for extreme overexposure, to Fukushima itself - the only accident comparable with the infamous Chernobyl disaster.

©2022 Andrew Leatherbarrow (P)2022 Andrew Leatherbarrow
History Japan Natural Disaster Japan Disaster
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Wow wow wow

What a collection of catastrophic events & failures & cultural blindness that contributed to the aftermath of the disaster.
The narration was exceptionally powerful & easy to understand, I listened on 1.3 speed & found it just right.
I hope that all those who have a penchant for Nuclear power listen to this & ensure more detailed planning & logistical instructions are provided.

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very interesting and challenging history

The listening was good. I had read a couple of audiobooks on Chernobyl and this seemed like a good follow on. I had read about the robots in Fukushima previously. I found this very more ish as the tension was mounting at times it felt like a fiction but it is frighteningly reality. With the Chernobyl accident and the current situations going on in the Ukrainian nuclear power stations in the middle of a conflict it to me is clear that any errant bomb or missile would cause a threat to the world greater than we have ever seen. The maths would show that currently it is the most dangerous situation that must be guaranteed that the power plants are not treated as weapons just as the power generation is. If one of the reactors was damaged the risk to the planet is enormous. If any nation had to deal with a repeat of Fukushima or Chernobyl the presence of military or incoming missiles bombs or even small arms would create an exclusion of a hundred miles but it would spread radiation over the globe and repeat the Fukushima 50 or the biorobots from Chernobyl would not be 50 but thousands as someone would have to react. The book is so relevant in today's world and with every technology leap someone keeps pulling us backwards.

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