After the magnitude 9.0 Tohoku earthquake and subsequent tsunami hit Japan on 11 March 2011, one of the most severe nuclear disasters in history, registered at the highest level of danger (level 7) by the International Atomic Energy Agency, occurred at the Fukushima nuclear power plants. The Fukushima nuclear disaster was the result of a series of natural catastrophes, engineering failures, and human errors that resulted in fuel core meltdown and spent fuel exposure, caused by cooling system failures, fires, and hydrogen explosions that destroyed reactor buildings. These catastrophic failures and errors led to the release of radioactive materials into the local and global environment via air and seawater. The ongoing developments of the social, economic, ecological, cultural, and political impacts of this unprecedented incident have far-reaching implications for all human beings around the world, and especially on Taiwan, because of several similarities between Taiwan and Japan. Since the Fukushima nuclear accident occurred, the question "Can a crisis like the one in Fukushima occur in Taiwan?" has been repeatedly raised by numerous stakeholders.
