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NEWS ABOUT: Chernobyl

What Does Fukushima's Level 7 Mean?

It sounds really, really bad. Is it?

(Newser) - Japan has made the decision to raise the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear disaster severity level from 5 to 7. That obviously means "worse." But what else does it mean?
  • Japan finally has an estimate on how much radiation has been released: The level is an indication of the total
... More »

Fukushima Endgame: Years, a Fortune Away

Will likely take decades to decommission nuke plant

(Newser) - The day when radiation stops spilling out of Japan's Fukushima Dai-ichi is still unknown, but it'll be at least a decade and millions of dollars beyond that by the time the nuclear plant is decommissioned, reports the AP. That's the timeline from Toshiba, which built four of the six reactors,... More »

Chernobyl Victims Still Face Greater Cancer Risk

Study's timing amid Japan nuclear crisis pure coincidence

(Newser) - It’s been almost a quarter of a century, but kids who consumed contaminated milk or affected cheese soon after the Chernobyl crisis still face a heightened thyroid cancer risk, a study finds. Researchers have kept tabs on 12,500 subjects who were under 18 and lived near Chernobyl when... More »

'Funny' Japanese Nuclear Boy Explains Disaster

Watch out for gas!

(Newser) - Confused about Japan's mounting nuclear disaster? Check out the nation's cheery animated "Nuclear Boy," a personification of the stricken Fukushima Dai-ichi's plant, on YouTube. Poor Genpatsu-kun (Nuclear Boy to you) gets an upset stomach and he "can't hold his poo any longer!" But he lets out... More »

'48 Hours to Worse Than Chernobyl'

The Japanese have lost control, officials warn

(Newser) - Officials around the world are increasingly concerned that Japan's mounting nuclear disaster is out of control. "It would be hard to describe how alarming this is right now," an American official tells ABC News . He warns that unless Japan can get all of its crippled nuclear plants under... More »

Chernobyl Bird Brains 5% Smaller

Residual radiation still hurting

(Newser) - Scientists have discovered some disturbing new about the still-lingering effects of the Chernobyl nuclear plant disaster: Birds born in the radiated region have brains 5% smaller than normal. "Even exposure to relatively low levels" of radiation 25 years after the accident "can have profound effects on the species... More »

Russia: Iran Could Cause 'Another Chernobyl'

Damaged nuclear reactor activation should not be rushed, scientists insist

(Newser) - If Iran’s attempts to activate its first nuclear power plant go forward as planned, we could be facing “another Chernobyl,” Russian officials warn. Russia has been assisting Iran with its controversial Bushehr reactor, which was reportedly damaged by the Stuxnet virus . Because of that damage, Russian scientists... More »

Chernobyl Opening to Tourists

Guided tours to be offered inside restricted zone

(Newser) - Get your red hots! Ukraine plans to start welcoming tourists to the site of the world's worst nuclear disaster next year. Officials will open up the sealed zone which extends for a 30-mile radius around the Chernobyl plant, and guides will offer tours which would avoid contaminated areas while taking... More »

Russia's New Fear: Chernobyl-Tainted Smoke

Wildfires encroach on contaminated regions

(Newser) - As Russia continues to battle raging wildfires in 100-degree temperatures, environmentalists are raising a scary cause for concern: radioactive smoke courtesy of Chernobyl. Regions of western Russian remain contaminated with radioactive residue from the nuclear disaster 24 years ago, and now wildfires are threatening those regions, explains the New York ... More »

Boar Not Just Nasty, but Radioactive

Seriously: German boar still contaminated by Chernobyl

(Newser) - Here's a weird twist on the boom in the wild boar population in Germany that has seen packs of the beasts rampaging down city streets and attacking people in parks: A bunch of them are radioactive. Believe it or not, they were contaminated by the fallout from the Chernobyl nuclear... More »

10 Places Not to Visit in 2010

Can't afford a vacation? Don't worry about skipping these locales

(Newser) - Sure, you could read one of the many lists of destinations you should visit this year—but in this economic climate, wouldn’t it be more useful to check out a list of places not to visit? Hailey Eber thinks so, and gives her top 10 in BlackBook :
  • Oymyakon, Russia:
... More »

Chernobyl Exchange Teen Demands to Stay in US

Furious Belarus officials call California host family 'kidnappers'

(Newser) - A Chernobyl exchange teen who doesn’t want to leave her host California family has infuriated Belarus officials, who are demanding her return. Tanya Kazyra, 16, has spent the last nine summers with a Petaluma family as part of a humanitarian exchange health program for children suffering the effects of... More »

For Nuke Cues, Look to France

US could benefit much from French approach to nuclear power, Times columnist writes

(Newser) - Her name is Anne Lauvergeon, but because she’s spearheaded France’s nuclear revolution, commentators call her “Atomic Anne.” And the US desperately needs someone like her, writes the New York Times’ Roger Cohen. Thanks to Lauvergeon’s advocacy, France has thrown aside nuclear jitters, and now gets... More »

Ukraine to Cover Chernobyl in Steel

Radioactive site still contains 95% of its nuclear material

(Newser) - The crumbling concrete that has encased Chernobyl for over 20 years is about to be replaced. In a deal worth $1.4 billion, a French firm will cover the aging nuclear reactor with steel, the BBC reports. Ukraine president Viktor Yushchenko declared today the day "a solution to the... More »

World's 10 Most Polluted Places

Presenting the world's most polluted places.

(Newser) - Millions around the world live in soot-blackened cities and toxic wastelands. Time offers a reverse travel guide to the most polluted places on Earth:
  1. Linfen, China
  2. Tianjin, China
  3. Sukinda, India
More »

15 Stories
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