On Mar 22, 2011, at 12:50 PM, Wojtek S wrote:
> Shane: "The very first reports on the earthquake said that--based on
> historical experience and geological knowledge--the maximum
> conceivable was 8.5 (which the design would have withstood) and the
> quake/tsunami came in at 9.1.""
>
> [WS;] But it withstood 9.1 for chrissake. The problem was protection
> against flooding which was inadequate even for 8.5 or less...
The tsunami is the necessary accompaniment to the earthquake, so the necessary protection from it is a consequence of the expectable maximum quake intensity. The tsunami didn't damage the reactors--it "just" knocked out the emergency cooling system. Which emergency cooling system wouldn't have been needed if the reactors had, in fact, "withstood 9.1 for chrissake." And still nobody knows just how much more damage the shock and the aftershocks caused to the reactors themselves.
Shane Mage
"Thunderbolt steers all things." Herakleitos of Ephesos, fr. 64