Original subtitles

[busy signal beeping]

TOEPCO HEAD OFFICE EMERGENCY DISASTER RESPONSE HEADQUARTERS

Let's give Yoshida a call.

They said we're allowed to use seawater to inject.

Yes, sir.

I know it's safe to inject seawater.

We're the ones that'll take the blame if this goes wrong.

Still they think they should have a say in how private companies like us do business.

BASED ON TRUE EVENTS

-[man 1] Go check over there. -[man 2] Yes, sir.

FUKUSHIMA DAIICHI NEAR THE BACKWASH VALVE PIT

[tense music playing]

-[man 1] Careful not to step on anything. -[man 2] Yes, sir.

[man 3] As we expected, there's nothing wrong with the suction hose.

[splashing]

-[Shimura] How's the pump? -[man 5] Working just fine!

[tense music continues]

[Shimura] How's the water pipe?

[man 5] Working fine!

[Shimura] Roger that!

[tense music continues]

[Shimura] One more time. Increase pressure!

-[man 4] Increasing pressure! -[motor rattling]

[tense music continues]

[Shimura sighs] Why isn't it working?

FUKUSHIMA DAIICHI CONTROL ROOM FOR UNITS 1 AND 2

[Maejima] This is bad.

Just as we thought, the water level isn't going up.

[operator] Which means we should assume that the water isn't going in, right?

[dosimeter beeps]

Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay. I see. Thank you.

FUKUSHIMA DAIICHI EMERGENCY OPERATION ROOM

I'll talk to you later.

Was that the head office?

Yeah. We were given permission to inject seawater.

-[Kinoshita] It's a bit late. -Yeah.

-So? -[Kinoshita sighs]

[sighs] First of all, there's definitely no water reaching the reactor.

The reactor's pressure is 7.38 megapascals.

It's risen two megapascals in the last 60 minutes.

That much pressure is preventing any water from flowing in.

-Then to do that, we'd have to vent. -[Kinoshita] The SR valve. That's right.

Yeah. Possible yet?

Still not possible.

Our containment pressure's rising as expected.

The AO valve must be shut off.

Is that from the…

hydrogen explosion?

Either that or some air leaked out

of the cylinders we used to pressurize the AO valve.

Has somebody gone to check?

[Kinoshita] They should've done it by now.

[Toda] Mr. Furuya and Mr. Osugi are back!

Welcome back! We'll take that.

[operator] Hey, guys. Welcome.

I'm taking it off.

-Let's get this off. -[Maejima] How'd it go?

[Furuya] No good.

Inside the reactor building,

north of the double doors,

it measured 300 millisieverts per hour.

[Maejima] Three hundred?

Then it must be leaking from somewhere already.

It's possible, you're right.

A bit lower on the south side, and west. Only 100 per hour.

[Maejima] Three hundred means you'd reach

the yearly exposure limit in just 20 minutes.

Shall we go from the south side then?

[Osugi sighs]

[Azuma] If a hydrogen explosion occurred at Unit 1,

couldn't the same thing happen to the other five reactors too?

I wouldn't say the possibility is zero.

Obviously there's a chance that could happen! We know that!

Now stop wasting our time with useless answers!

Or do you think the public will buy this malarkey?

[Sano sighs]

[Murakami] A hydrogen explosion at the other units, huh?

Yeah.

[sighs]

Believe it or not,

Sano just told me to stop giving him useless explanations.

The next press conference,

he needs to explain that a hydrogen explosion could still occur.

It seems unlikely to me.

Even still, I'm having them open the closed valve as we speak.

[sighs] Whether or not he wants to create chaos,

the prime minister can decide.

If that question comes up later, he'll deny ever answering.

But it could happen,

so opening the valve should fix the problem.

Okay? Go do your job.

[sighs]

Hey. It's Yoshida.

-Talk to me. -[Maejima] Yes, sir.

Everything is ready.

We'll enter above the suppression chamber and try to access the AO valve.

[somber music playing]

I'm sorry.

After seeing that explosion,

you all must be scared.

[somber music continues]

If you'd been inside when that happened…

you'd be dead for sure.

[Maejima] We understand that it must be done.

[music fades]

Would you please

open the valves any way you can?

The primary containment vessel and the pressure vessel…

they've reached their limits.

[somber music playing]

[Maejima] We'll take care of the primary containment vessel.

I'm leaving the pressure vessel up to you.

Okay.

[tense music playing]

[hangs up]

[tense music builds]

EPISODE 6

[music fades]

FUKUSHIMA DAIICHI NEAR ENTRANCE OF UNIT 2 REACTOR BUILDING

UNIT 2 SUPPRESSION CHAMBER

[door creaking]

[door slams]

[operators breathing heavily]

FUKUSHIMA DAIICHI UNIT 2 SUPPRESSION CHAMBER

[echoing clanging]

[Furuya] What was that?

[tense music playing]

[rattling]

[operators gasp]

[metal clanging]

-[Furuya] Let's go. -[Osagi] All right.

[tense music continues]

FUKUSHIMA DAIICHI UNIT 2 ABOVE SUPPRESSION CHAMBER

[water dripping]

[tense music continues]

[Osugi] There it is. That's the AO valve.

[tense music continues]

[Furuya] We're on top of the suppression chamber.

[Osugi] Got it.

[tense music continues]

[Furuya grunts]

-[Osugi] Are you all right? -[Furuya] Sorry! I'm okay.

[Furuya breathes deeply]

[tense music continues]

[dosimeter beeping rapidly]

[Furuya] Let's head back.

[Osugi] Yeah, okay.

[beeping continues]

[beeping fades]

[Yoshida] I see.

[Maejima sighs] I'm sorry.

[Yoshida] No need.

They made the right decision, coming back.

Would you please give ten minutes

for me to call you back?

[Maejima] Yes, sir.

[hangs up phone]

[sighs]

[tense music playing]

Excuse me, sir. Vice President Murakami is calling for you.

[tense music continues]

When you get those documents, bring them to me.

Yes, sir.

How's the water pumping so far? Is it working?

No, it's not.

Our pressure vessel's at seven megapascals.

And that's so high that the water isn't going in.

How is that so?

Shouldn't the SR valve automatically open?

There's too much pressure to open on its own.

So it won't automatically open?

What will be the result?

[tense music playing]

The Unit 2 fuel rods have started exposing.

Assuming that the water gauge is correct, from the top of the fuel rods,

our water level's dropped to 700 mm.

In the next two hours,

our fuel rods will melt.

If that happens, because of the melted fuel,

our pressure vessel will likely be damaged,

and radiation will pour into the atmosphere.

A major contamination event is inevitable.

[tense music continues]

[music fades]

All of us power station employees

will be exposed to the radiation.

And so nobody will be able to get close to the reactors anymore.

Therefore, after 2,

Units 1, 3, and 4

will each begin to melt down,

and eventually melt through.

You need to get that valve open!

But do it now! Cool it down!

Yeah.

Kinoshita!

Here you go.

[Yoshida] Do you know how many volts we need to operate the SR valve?

One hundred and twenty-five.

Why do you ask?

Do you think we could force the valve open?

Not remotely without power.

Plus it's where no one can get to

and we can't move it.

A car battery can supply 12 volts, right?

So ten connected together

should be enough to get a reading.

Sure. Ten, yeah.

It worked in the Control Room to get us a reading there. So it's possible?

Uh-huh.

-Get it moving. -[Kinoshita] Yes, sir.

Everyone, we need to urge anyone with a car to provide their battery.

Teams of two. Go get batteries.

[man] Will anyone lend us their car battery?

[woman] Is there anyone who is willing to provide us with their car battery?

-[clattering] -[operator grunting]

-[zapping] -[operator grunts]

[Maejima] Be careful.

It's only 120 volts, but in a serial connection,

you get shocked, it could kill you.

[Osugi] I heard some employees were reluctant to give up their batteries.

If they removed their batteries

and the time comes when they need to evacuate,

they would no longer be able to do so.

[Osugi grunts]

We can't let these go to waste.

[electricity crackles]

[operator] I'll take over.

[electricity crackles]

[deep breathing]

-[Furuya] All right, I'll take over. -[Nozaki] Oh, I appreciate it.

[Furuya] Could you shine that where my hands are?

[Nozaki] Sure.

[Furuya] Right there.

Also, turn the page and show me the next wiring diagram, please.

[Nozaki] Okay.

[Furuya] This is the one.

This terminal connects to the SR valve.

[Nozaki] You found it? What a relief.

[Furuya] If they're done preparing the cable, bring it over.

[Nozaki] Okay.

-Cable ready? -[Takahashi] Here you go.

[Nozaki] Mr. Furuya.

-We're connecting it! -[Maejima] Understood.

-[Nozaki] I'm counting down. -[Maejima] Understood.

[Nozaki] Three, two, one, zero!

The cable is connected.

[Maejima] Understood.

Open the SR valve.

[operator] Opening the SR valve.

-In three, two, one, zero. -[clicks]

It's not working.

[somber music playing]

[operator sighs]

[Maejima] It needs 125 volts, huh?

Let's make it 11 batteries and try again.

[operators] Yes, sir!

[somber music continues]

[Osugi] Furu-san!

We're going to add another battery and try again.

[somber music continues]

I think they might be struggling in there.

How's Unit 3?

That's taking time to figure out.

The Self-Defense Force's back-up pumper arrived,

so I asked them to head over to Unit 3,

but the debris from the explosion seems to have high levels of radiation.

[somber music continues]

[Yoshida sighs]

[man 1] Watch your step! Once you establish a route, bring the hose around.

[man 2] Yes, sir!

FUKUSHIMA DAIICHI NEAR UNIT 3

[somber music playing]

[man 3] Put marks on the highly radioactive debris.

-Make sure nobody goes near. -[workers] Okay!

[tense music continues]

[crackling]

[man 4] Hey! This area's safe up to here!

Bring in the heavy machinery!

[engine revving]

[tense music continues]

[Kinoshita] Okay. Understood.

[tense music continues]

[Kinoshita sighs]

UNIT 2 REACTOR WATER LEVEL

12:00 A.M. - 1.5 M 12:40 A.M. - 1.6 M

1:10 A.M. - 1.7 M 2:00 A.M. - 1.8 M

3:00 A.M. - 1.9 M 4:00 A.M. - 2.0 M

5:10 A.M. - 2.1 M

[sighs]

[tense music continues]

Almost 500 kilopascals?

Yeah.

The containment vessel's only rated for 380 kilopascals.

More bad news.

[tense music continues]

Let's evacuate.

Everyone who is currently working a shift in or around the building,

it's time to stop.

[man] Yes, sir.

[workers speak indistinctly]

[tense music continues]

MUTSU CITY, AOMORI PREFECTURE FAMILY HOME OF UNIT 4 OPERATOR KIRIHARA

[man 1] Yesterday, they looked for Koki again.

but couldn't find him.

[man 2] Where did they search?

Where in Unit 4?

[man 1] I don't know.

What's that mean, huh?

Your words are useless.

Are you even looking for him?

If you're not going to look for him, tell me!

I'll go over there and search for him myself.

And you'd better let me in to search!

[man 1] Uh, but, Mr. Kirihara, you can't.

The station is in a state of chaos right now.

I can't push them that much. Please understand.

I really do feel incredibly sorry.

Still nothing.

TO-OH ELECTRICITY POWER COMPANY

[Murakami] It's been an hour since you halted work. Can't you resume yet?

[Yoshida] The pressure in the primary containment vessel is 520 kilopascals.

We can't even force water in.

I can't instruct them to work next to a nuclear reactor

that can and will likely explode any minute.

Unit 2's SR valve opened!

Seems that the batteries we connected pushed open the valve.

That's great.

What's our pressure at?

[man] The reactor's pressure has started dropping!

[workers murmur in relief]

Let's get back to work then. Good job, Yoshida. Way to go.

Yoshida?

Well,

we really should wait and see what happens.

[sighs] Are you serious right now?

Everything should be fine for a while.

You might not get another chance to go.

Take it, will you?

Sure. Let's do that.

Tell the workers to go into Unit 2 right away.

We also need to lay our hoses so Unit 3 has enough water to spray.

[workers] Yes, sir!

[all chattering]

[Kinoshita] Hello, Mr. Maejima?

We've been given a green light to resume work.

That's right.

That's right. Uh-huh. Correct.

FUKUSHIMA DAIICHI NEAR UNIT 2

[Watabe] We've got water!

We've got flow!

-The water, it's going in. -[Shimura] Roger that!

[Hayami] Well done!

[water flows]

FUKUSHIMA DAIICHI NEAR UNIT 3

[man 1] Hold it. Lower.

More, more…

More, more. Got it!

Hold it there. Hold it there.

More.

Careful now!

[man 2] Once you get the hose through, advance another five meters.

[man 1] Yes, sir! Advancing five meters.

Hold on.

Careful of the debris!

[Hayami] Come in, Zero-Three. Zero-Three, this is Zero-Zero. Over.

[man 2] Zero-Zero. Zero-Zero. This is Zero-Three. Clear. Over.

-[Hayami] How's it going over there? -[man 2] We still need more time.

There's a lot of debris out here.

[Hayami] Roger that.

-Shimura! -Yes, sir?

[Hayami] Can I leave you in charge? I'm heading over to Unit 3.

[Shimura] No problem.

-[Hayami] Kato! Oishi! -[both] Yes, sir!

[Hayami] Come with me to help lay the water hoses at Unit 3.

-Get in that one! -[both] Yes, sir!

[Hayami] And I'll need a pumper.

Tell them to follow my vehicle to Unit 3.

[both] Yes, sir!

[tense music playing]

[tense music continues]

[music fades]

FUKUSHIMA DAIICHI NEAR UNIT 3

-[Hayami] Let's do it. -[Kato and Oishi] Yes, sir!

[air rushes]

-[explosion] -[men grunting]

[men groaning]

[metal clatters]

[pens rattle]

[panting]

[tense music playing]

[Kinoshita] Mr. Yoshida! Come back to the seismic iso building!

Hurry! There's too much radiation here!

[tense music continues]

[rapid beeping]

[debris clattering]

[debris crashing]

[debris crashes]

[rapid beeping continues]

[tense music playing]

[rapid beeping continues]

[Hayami] Hey there! Hey! Hey! Are you okay?

[Kato] Yes, sir. I'm okay.

Hey! Oishi! Are you okay?

[Oishi] I'm okay too.

[rapid beeping continues]

[Hayami] Let's head back.

-[Kato] Okay. -[Oishi] Yeah.

[tense music continues]

[Hayami strains]

[Hayami grunts]

[Hayami grunts]

[Hayami grunts]

[Hayami grunts]

-[Hayami grunts] -[debris clatters]

[rapid beeping continues]

[Hayami groans]

[Hayami groans]

[rapid beeping continues]

[Hayami groans softly]

[Hayami groans softly]

[rapid beeping continues]

[Hayami groans]

[Hayami groans]

[Hayami breathes deeply]

[rapid beeping continues]

[Hayami groans]

[somber music playing]

[gasping]

[Hayami] Can you two move?

-[Kato] Yes. -[Oishi] Yes, sir.

[Hayami] Search for any workers that might be here.

We're getting out of here as quickly as possible.

In addition to the radiation, there could be another explosion. Hurry!

-[Kato] Roger that. -[Oishi] Roger.

[somber music continues]

[Hayami grunts]

[water splashing]

[Kato] Where's the pumper?

[Oishi] There it is!

[Kato] Are you okay?

[Oishi] Sergeant Kuribayashi!

Sergeant Suzuki!

[Kato] Are you okay?

-Is anybody here? -[man 1] Over here!

[water splashing]

[somber music continues]

[man 1] Over here!

-[Kato] You all right? -[Oishi] Are you okay?

-[Kato] You shielded under the vehicle? -[man 2] Yes, sir.

[Kato] Are you injured?

[engine stalls]

[engine stalls]

[Hayami groans] Damn it.

[Kato] Sergeant Major!

[somber music continues]

[Kato] We found everyone.

-[Hayami] Are you okay? -[man 1] Yes, sir.

-[Hayami] Hey, are you okay? -[man 3] Yes, sir.

-[Hayami] Are you okay? -[man 4] Yes, sir.

[somber music continues]

[Hayami] We're leaving the vehicle. We'll run towards the seismic safe building.

Can everyone run?

[men] Yes, sir.

-[Hayami] All right, let's go! -[men] Yes, sir.

[somber music continues]

[Kato] Sergeant Major!

[Hayami] What's the matter?

[somber music continues]

[rapid beeping]

[somber music continues]

[Hayami shudders]

[rapid beeping continues]

[man 5 gasping for air]

[man 5 groans]

[man 5 groans]

-[Hayami] Wait here! -[men] Yes, sir.

[Hayami] Are you okay?

[rapid beeping continues]

[man 6 groans quietly]

[man 6] There must be a great amount of radiation.

[man 6 takes shallow breaths]

[man 6] You need to get away from here as fast as you can.

[clattering]

[man 7 groans in pain]

[somber music continues]

[man 6] Leave us here.

Take your men and go.

[rapid beeping continues]

[man 6 breathes rapidly]

[Hayami] Have you lost your mind? Come on, hold on to my shoulder!

[Hayami grunts]

-[Oishi] Let's go. -[Kato] All right!

[somber music continues]

[Oishi] Are you okay?

-Can you stand? -[man 8] My leg.

[Oishi] Does your left leg work?

-Come on. Hang on to me. -[man 8] I'm sorry.

-Thank you so much. -[Oishi] You're gonna be okay.

[rapid beeping continues]

-[man 1] You can take your time. -[man 3] Easy now.

[man 4] You all right?

[groaning]

[man 1] Are you okay?

[somber music continues]

[groaning]

-[man 6] Thank you. -[groaning]

[man 6] Thank you.

[Hayami] Think that car will start?

[man 6] No, it won't. Any of the cars with hoods open

are the ones we took the batteries out of.

They won't start.

[man 6 groans]

[somber music continues]

[music fades]

[reporter 1] I see flames. Unlike the hydrogen explosion at Unit 1,

there are flames this time.

This explosion is far more massive than the previous one.

-[reporter 2] Something is falling? -[reporter 1] Yes.

It seems something like debris is falling.

This is also something we did not see with Unit 1.

I repeat, earlier today at around 11 a.m., there was an explosion at Unit 3…

It's Unit 3 now? What's going on?

Why did we have another explosion there?

[reporter 1] We can also see flames.

From the footage we're seeing,

there seems to be debris of some sort falling in the area. As we find out more…

[man] Listen. All just head to your parents' place.

The radiation could reach Tokyo.

I'll let your father know you're coming.

SHIBUYA

There was a massive explosion at Fukushima Nuclear Power Station today.

According to TOEPCO,

at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station,

workers there had just resumed pumping water

in an effort to cool the primary containment vessel.

[TV commentator] Therefore, it's possible that workers were outside

when the explosion occurred.

I'm very concerned about how much damage it has caused.

[female TV reporter] We don't have details regarding the extent of the damage.

We'll provide an update as soon as we receive new information.

Nothing to worry about.

[male TV reporter] What you're viewing now…

He'll be all right.

[male TV reporter] An explosion at the Fukushima Daiichi power station.

And can you show the footage?

Yes. And this is the footage of the explosion at Unit 1 on the 12th.

As you can see, unlike the incident at Unit 1,

this time, black smoke is billowing higher and we can also see flames.

And could that be debris? I can see there are numerous large falling objects.

[female TV reporter] Workers had just resumed pumping water

when the explosion occurred.

There are mounting concerns regarding damages,

but we have not received details yet.

We'll provide an update as soon as we receive new information.

[quiet footsteps approach]

The count's 40 now

that have gone missing.

I'll get someone to double check those numbers right away.

[Yoshida] And with that… [sighs]

…now I can't return home ever again.

What are you saying?

I've made unreasonable demands to everyone.

I'm the one who sent in all those guys.

As a result,

should any of those guys not make it home again…

well, then I won't either.

As soon as all this started…

I decided that.

[Azuma] Unit 3's a plutonium reactor, right?

Which isn't using uranium, but plutonium, which is much more toxic by comparison.

And you let it burst out into the air!

But, sir, the level of risk among the reactors is all the same.

Plutonium reactors aren't more dangerous than others.

-Furthermore, their safety is my highest-- -Enough already!

That means we'll have to escalate to Level 7

for international accidents.

Which is what Chernobyl was.

[man] Reporting in, sir.

The temperature of Unit 4's spent fuel is rising rapidly.

Unit 4's being inspected, right?

A whole lot of nuclear fuel is being stored there.

Exactly. Currently, the pools contain 1,535 rods.

The decay heat is at its peak.

But there's enough water in that pool for a month, even with no power.

So, why's the temperature rising?

[man] That explosion may have damaged the pool, resulting in water leakage.

Unlike the reactors, we don't shield our spent fuel rods from everything.

If those rods are exposed,

an extraordinary amount of radiation will get released.

[tense music playing]

What's our current temp?

[man] At the time of the earthquake, the water was 40 degrees.

Currently, it's up to 84 degrees.

[tense music continues]

[Maejima] The water level in Unit 2's reactor is going down.

Yes.

The AO valve is still shut.

Yeah.

Yes.

The pressure's also beginning to rise.

At this rate,

we have five hours until the fuel rods are exposed again.

[tense music playing]

[tense music builds]

[tense music continues]

[music stops]

[somber music playing]

[somber music continues]

[music fades]