Good grief! Has this author ever heard of an “Act of God”?
They suffered an earthquake larger than I’ve ever heard of (and I’m a native of CA). Then they were nearly washed off the island by a Tsunami that crippled the eractor. THen they were beseiged by aftershocks greater than any CA earthquake in my memory. Who can plan against those forces of nature?
The big mistake, as I see it, is that they should not have tried to save these units. Fill them with cement and seal them.
Can't do that. The fuel MUST be cooled continuously. The fuel is buried inside the containment and the vessel. You can't get directly to it.
Chernobyl was and different design and was laid bare. You could get close to the fuel with cover and they installed engineered cooling as they buried it in the sarcophagus. That cannot be done here.
So in one ironic way, Chernobyl benefited with less designed safety (poor containment structures and a core that was combustible). The disaster was worse as a result, but it made the containment after simpler to install.