Abstract

The Fukushima nuclear power plant is an inoperative power plant in Okuma, Fukushima Japan, that was operated by the Tokyo Electric Power Company. The Fukushima nuclear disaster occurred following a significant earthquake in which a 15-meter tsunami disabled the power supply on March 11th, 2011. The nuclear accident caused high radioactive releases that were eight times higher than the average level, and several reactors were damaged. This single event caused the death of several people, and over 100,000 people were evacuated and from their homes as a result of environmental radiation pollution. The economic impact of this nuclear power plant accident was estimated at approximately 25 trillion yen ($300 billion). The engineers accountable for the design of the plant-based on the risk analysis violated several National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE) Code of ethics as the safety, health, and welfare of the general public was not of utmost priority as at the time of engineering design and construction. Also, the Tokyo Electric Power Company management team did not predict a possible tsunami disaster. It, therefore, failed to take necessary precautionary measures, which are the types of risk analysis that needed to have been examined critically during the design phase of the engineering technology project. This disaster was a result of poor management from the operators of the power plant. And this research paper will explore the ethical engineering issues that caused this disaster and provide the best management practices for the successful operation of future nuclear power plants to prevent future disaster occurrences.