If the AP1000 were to lose electrical power for its cooling system, as happened to the 40-year-old Fukushima Dai-Ichi plant after the earthquake and tsunami last March, it would automatically cool down, its designers say, by making use of the natural forces of gravity and convection. An enormous reservoir above the reactor holds water for cooling. In an emergency leading to loss of power, valves open, allowing water to fall onto the reactor. As it then turns to steam, it rises, cools beneath the roof and rains down again.
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