The Day RCIC Took a Stand at Unit 2: Three Days of Unquenchable Cooling Fires at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (2011)

The Day RCIC Took a Stand at Unit 2: Three Days of Unquenchable Cooling Fires at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (2011)
On March 11, 2011, when the Great East Japan Earthquake hit the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, a tsunami beyond expectations swept through the plant, instantly destroying the plant's power supply facilities. While many equipment shut down one after another, one piece of equipment barely survived in Unit 2: the RCIC reactor isolation cooling system. This system, which uses steam to power its own pumps, is capable of pumping coolant into the reactor even when power is lost, but it is not designed to operate for long periods of time. Nevertheless, RCIC continued to operate until the third day after the earthquake.
Whether or not the RCIC worked was the difference between fate and failure, and if it had stopped, Unit 2 would likely have suffered rapid core damage. In the aftermath of the earthquake, the Japanese society was still in a state of confusion over the disclosure of information, as the situation of the nuclear power plant accident was still unclear and anxiety was spreading. The fact that the RCIC continued to operate is a symbolic moment in the history of the accident.