Why did workers pump seawater and boric acid into the Fukushima Daiichi reactors?

Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

earthquake damage, Honshu, Japan, 2011 — Japan earthquake and tsunami of 2011 Aerial view of damage to a portion of the northeastern coast of Honshu, Japan, following the offshore earthquake and resultant tsunami there on March 11, 2011.

Following the 2011 earthquake and tsunami, the backup generators at the Fukushima Daiichi plant were damaged, leading to a total loss of power and the subsequent failure of the cooling systems in reactors 1, 2, and 3. As residual heat caused the fuel rods to overheat and partially melt down, plant workers pumped seawater and boric acid into the reactor cores in an urgent effort to cool and stabilize them.12