Masao Yoshida (nuclear engineer)
Encyclopedia
Masao Yoshida is a General Manager in the Nuclear Asset Management Department of the Tokyo Electric Power Co., Inc. (TEPCO), Japan
. He was the plant manager during the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster
, where he played a critical role by disobeying corporate headquarter orders to stop using seawater to cool the reactors. According to nuclear physicist (and co-founder of String field theory
), Dr. Michio Kaku
, the decision to use seawater arguably prevented a much greater disaster. The massive influx of seawater is the only thing that stopped the cores from exploding, according to Dr. Kaku, who added this was a last ditch effort. Yoshida managed to gain the trust of Prime Minister Naoto Kan
, who he met the day after the tsunami on a plant tour. They had both attended Tokyo Institute of Technology
.
On March 12, about 28 hours after the tsunami struck, Tepco executives had ordered workers to start injecting seawater into Reactor No. 1. But 21 minutes later, they ordered Yoshida to suspend the operation. Yoshida chose to ignore the order. At 20:05 JST that night, the Japanese government again ordered seawater
to be injected into Unit 1.
The week of June 7, 2011, TEPCO gave Mr. Yoshida a verbal reprimand for defying the order and not reporting it earlier.
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. He was the plant manager during the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster
Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster
The is a series of equipment failures, nuclear meltdowns, and releases of radioactive materials at the Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant, following the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami on 11 March 2011. The plant comprises six separate boiling water reactors originally designed by General Electric ,...
, where he played a critical role by disobeying corporate headquarter orders to stop using seawater to cool the reactors. According to nuclear physicist (and co-founder of String field theory
String field theory
String field theory is a formalism in string theory in which the dynamics of relativistic strings is reformulated in the language of quantum field theory...
), Dr. Michio Kaku
Michio Kaku
is an American theoretical physicist, the Henry Semat Professor of Theoretical Physics in the City College of New York of City University of New York, the co-founder of string field theory, and a "communicator" and "popularizer" of science...
, the decision to use seawater arguably prevented a much greater disaster. The massive influx of seawater is the only thing that stopped the cores from exploding, according to Dr. Kaku, who added this was a last ditch effort. Yoshida managed to gain the trust of Prime Minister Naoto Kan
Naoto Kan
is a Japanese politician, and former Prime Minister of Japan. In June 2010, then-Finance Minister Kan was elected as the leader of the Democratic Party of Japan and designated Prime Minister by the Diet to succeed Yukio Hatoyama. On 26 August 2011, Kan announced his resignation...
, who he met the day after the tsunami on a plant tour. They had both attended Tokyo Institute of Technology
Tokyo Institute of Technology
The Tokyo Institute of Technology is a public research university located in Greater Tokyo Area, Japan. Tokyo Tech is the largest institution for higher education in Japan dedicated to science and technology. Tokyo Tech enrolled 4,850 undergaraduates and 5006 graduate students for 2009-2010...
.
On March 12, about 28 hours after the tsunami struck, Tepco executives had ordered workers to start injecting seawater into Reactor No. 1. But 21 minutes later, they ordered Yoshida to suspend the operation. Yoshida chose to ignore the order. At 20:05 JST that night, the Japanese government again ordered seawater
Seawater
Seawater is water from a sea or ocean. On average, seawater in the world's oceans has a salinity of about 3.5% . This means that every kilogram of seawater has approximately of dissolved salts . The average density of seawater at the ocean surface is 1.025 g/ml...
to be injected into Unit 1.
The week of June 7, 2011, TEPCO gave Mr. Yoshida a verbal reprimand for defying the order and not reporting it earlier.