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NEWS ABOUT: nuclear reactor

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US OKs First Nuclear Reactors in 30 Years

Georgia plant gets approval to build two

(Newser) - It's a milestone for the nuclear energy industry: The feds today gave their blessing to a Georgia utility company to build two new reactors, the first such approval in 30 years, reports CNN . Southern Co. and its partners will build the reactors in Waynesboro, Ga., about 170 miles east... More »

Japan to Shut Nuke Plants at 40 Years

Public concerns force stiffening of safety regulations

(Newser) - Nuclear reactors in Japan will be retired after 40 years of use, as part of the government's efforts to step up nuclear safety in the aftermath of the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant disaster last March, reports the AP . There are 54 reactors in Japan, 18 of which will be 40... More »

Giant Tent Goes Up Over Japan Reactor

TEPCO hopes tent will contain radiation

(Newser) - TEPCO is constructing an airtight polyester tent measuring 177 feet tall and 154 feet in length to cover one of the worst-hit reactors at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant, hoping the tent will stop leaked radioactive materials from spreading and prevent possible future leaks, reports the AP . Unsafe radiation... More »

Germany: All Nuke Plants Shut Down by 2022

Country is largest industrial power to make such a pledge

(Newser) - In the wake of the disaster at Japan’s Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant, Germany has announced plans to phase out all of its nuclear power plants by 2022. With this move, Germany will become the largest industrial power to give up nuclear energy, the BBC reports. The country’s seven... More »

New Radiation High Found in Milk ... in Arkansas

Iodine-131 in Little Rock is 3 times higher than EPA 'max containment level'

(Newser) - The levels of radiation detected in milk tested in Little Rock, Ark., are the highest yet, according to data released by the EPA on Saturday. The level of iodine-131 in the milk was three times higher than the EPA's "maximum containment level" set for safe exposure. But the milk... More »

Japan to Extend Nuclear Evacuation Zone

Continuing trouble at reactor causes public to lash out at polls

(Newser) - With radiation continuing to spew from six damaged nuclear reactors at the Fukushima plant, Japanese authorities will finally expand the evacuation zone from 12 miles to 18 miles, reports Reuters . Engineers said they were no closer to restoring the nuclear facility's cooling system, an essential step to getting the reactor... 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 »

Team Weighs Mammoth Task: Dismantling Reactors

Planning begins as stabilizing efforts continue at Fukushima

(Newser) - It could be months or years before authorities have simply stabilized Japan’s nuclear crisis, but Japanese and American engineers are already teaming up to figure out how to dismantle the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant’s reactors. Toshiba and Westinghouse are among the firms planning the gargantuan task: Never before have... More »

Tokyo Electric Will Scrap Fukushima Reactors

Tokyo Electric Power cannot recover reactors 1-4

(Newser) - After three weeks, Tokyo Electric Power still has not been able to bring the first four reactors at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant under control, and the company now says that they will all be decommissioned. “We have no choice but to scrap” them, said the company’s chairman,... More »

US Rushes Fresh Water to Fukushima

Worry spikes about corrosion from seawater

(Newser) - With the crisis in Fukushima Dai-ichi deteriorating, US naval barges are speeding toward the foundering plant with loads of fresh water to cool the reactors. The move comes amid rising concern about the corrosive nature of the saltwater the Japanese have been using; the fresh water should prevent pipes from... More »

Japan Fears Reactor Core Breach

Damage may have occurred in explosion last week

(Newser) - Japanese officials fear that one of the reactor cores of the Fukushima nuclear facility may have been breached, raising the specter of significant environmental damage and halting work at the nuclear complex. "It is possible that somewhere the reactor may have been damaged," says a spokesman for the... More »

Regulators Ignored Warning Signs at Fukushima

Despite noted problems, an extension was granted for oldest reactor

(Newser) - Government regulators were concerned about the oldest reactor at Japan’s Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant—but still approved a 10-year extension for reactor No. 1, just a month before the devastating earthquake and tsunami that landed the country in its current nuclear crisis. A report from the regulatory committee noted... More »

Japan Nuclear Pool Near Boiling Point

Work resumes at stricken plant

(Newser) - Workers resumed efforts to bring Japan's Fukushima nuclear complex under control today but a pool for storing spent fuel at the plant has presented yet another problem, AP reports. A nuclear safety official says the pool is heating up and temperatures are at or near the boiling point. The pool... More »

Japan Nuclear Plant Solution: Bury It?

Crisis continues as authorities rush to cool reactors by any means necessary

(Newser) - Japan is considering burying its troubled nuclear plant in sand and concrete—the same move made in Chernobyl 25 years ago, Reuters reports. “It is not impossible to encase the reactors in concrete. But our priority right now is to try and cool them down first,” said an... More »

Fukushima Plant Worker: 'Please Stop Attacking Us'

My coworkers are putting their lives on the line, she says

(Newser) - Michiko Otsuki is sick of people ripping on Tokyo Electric Power Co. Otsuki is one of the workers who evacuated from the Fukushima nuclear plant on Monday, and afterward she took to her blog to give the people she left behind there a voice. “People have been flaming Tepco,... 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 »

Traces of Radiation to Reach US Friday

UN charts radiation plume

(Newser) - A plume of radiation from stricken Japanese nuclear reactors is crossing the Pacific and will be detectable in southern California by tomorrow, according to a United Nations forecast. Experts stress that the radiation in the plume will be extremely diluted and will, at worst, have very minor health consequences for... More »

Another Reactor May Be Leaking Radioactivity

Japan doubles number of workers inside to 100

(Newser) - The news remains grim from Japan's Fukishima Dai-ichi plant. Two of the six reactors there may now be leaking radioactive steam, reports the New York Times , which again characterizes the official pronouncements as confusing. In the meantime, the 50 emergency workers who were yanked off the site earlier have returned,... More »

Japan Was Warned About Nuke Safety in '08

WikiLeaks cables also reveal a number of other past concerns

(Newser) - The Japanese government was warned in 2008 that a strong earthquake would be a “serious problem” for the country’s nuclear power stations, WikiLeaks cables reveal. An International Atomic Energy Agency official declared twin concerns at a meeting of the G8’s Nuclear Safety and Security Group: that safety... More »

Scared Americans Stock Up on Anti-Radiation Pills

Potassium iodide, Geiger counters flying off the shelves

(Newser) - An ocean away from the unfolding nuclear crisis in Japan, worried Americans are stocking up on Geiger counters and supplements that can block one effect of radiation exposure. Pharmacies around the country are rapidly running out of potassium iodide, which can protect the thyroid gland from radiation damage, the AP... More »

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