Nuclear power 101

When a powerful earthquake caused a devastating tsunami off the coast of Japan in March 2011, attention quickly centered on the failing nuclear power reactors at Fukushima Daiichi power plant. During CNN’s coverage of the recovery efforts, it became necessary to educate our users on the basic functionality of this type of nuclear power generation to create a better understanding of the critical situations the Japanese were facing.

Using extensive research from multiple government agencies, combined with some fantastic original animations from the CNN graphics unit, I produced this multimedia explainer detailing the process of nuclear power generation, and the specific problems facing the ailing Fukushima Daiichi power plant.

Check it out at CNN.com ยป