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NEWS ABOUT: Tokyo Electric Power Co.

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New Trouble for Fukushima Reactor

Officials detect radioactive xenon, but reactor is stable

(Newser) - A potential new setback for Japan’s Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant: Utility officials have detected radioactive xenon particles inside the No. 2 reactor, suggesting unexpected nuclear fission may have taken place. Boric acid, which can counteract nuclear fission, was injected as a precaution, but Tokyo Electric Power says that... More »

Typhoon Rams Japan, Heads for Fukushima

5 killed as powerful storm makes landfall

(Newser) - A powerful typhoon made landfall in Japan today, bringing winds of up to 100 miles per hour and causing floods that have killed at least five people . Typhoon Roke is on course to hit Japan's tsunami-ravaged northeastern coast, and flooding there may cause radioactive water from the Fukushima plant... More »

Tepco Knew of Fukushima Design Flaw, Did Nothing

Electric switcher swamped by tsunami, killing plant's cooling system

(Newser) - Senior Tepco engineers were aware of design flaws at five of its Fukushima Dai-ichi reactors for decades, but complacency and cost-consciousness prevented the company from fixing those problems, reports the Wall Street Journal . While newer reactors have backup diesel generators and electrical switchers placed securely in the well-protected reactor building,... More »

Japan's Tepco Rebuffs Push to Exit Nuclear Biz

But shareholders urge bosses to 'jump in a reactor'

(Newser) - Despite insults from a huge crowd of fuming shareholders, Tokyo Electric Power Co. voted down a motion to end the company’s stricken nuclear business. At its biggest-ever shareholder meeting, attended by more than 9,000, the firm also managed to appoint 17 board members, the New York Times reports.... More »

Tepco Halts Water Filtering at Fukushima

Power company running out of room to store contaminated water

(Newser) - Tokyo Electric launched its much-hyped water filtration system yesterday at its foundering Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant—only to shut it down a mere five hours later. The setback is very serious, notes the New York Times, with Tepco in grave danger of running out of room for the tens of... More »

Inside Fukushima Cleanup: Willy-Nilly Safety, Training

Many workers lack training, equipment needed

(Newser) - Three months after the crisis at Japan’s Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant began, the Wall Street Journal takes a look at safety measures in interviews with seven of the people they're designed to protect. One contractor had just a 30-minute briefing before stepping onto the grounds in the... More »

Fukushima's Tsunami Plan: One Page

Nuclear plant thought it was immune to waves, thanks to decade-old memo

(Newser) - Nuclear officials in Japan thought the Fukushima reactors were safe from the biggest waves a quake could hurl at them—thanks to a decade-old, one-page memo from the plant operator, reports the AP . Granted, it’s a double-size page, but it gives few details to back its claim that no... More »

TEPCO Head Resigns Amid Huge Losses

Masataka Shimizu steps down in disgrace over Fukushima disaster

(AP) - Tokyo Electric Power Co. President Masataka Shimizu said today he was stepping down in disgrace after reporting the biggest financial losses in company history. Shimizu, criticized for his low profile during the early days of the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant disaster, said he was resigning to take "responsibility" but... More »

New Photos Show Tsunami Slamming Fukushima

Tokyo Electric Power Co. releases dramatic pictures

(Newser) - As Japanese workers today entered the last of the three Fukushima Dai-ichi reactor buildings suffering from nuclear meltdowns, Tokyo Electric Power Company released dramatic new pictures of the March 11 tsunami hitting the plant. Workers entered the No. 3 reactor building today for the first time since the earthquake and... More »

What Really Happened When Quake Hit Fukushima

Nuclear crisis was more desperate than the world realized

(Newser) - The first 24 hours of the nuclear crisis at the Fukushima Dai-ichi were more chaotic and dangerous than the outside world ever dreamed. When the tsunami hit and knocked out the plant’s backup generators, workers turned into scavengers, searching nearby homes for flashlights and ripping the batteries out of... More »

Workers Venture Back Into Exploded Reactor

They're attempting to use ventilation system to clear radioactive air

(AP) - Workers entered one of the damaged reactor buildings at Japan's stricken nuclear power plant today for the first time since it was rocked by an explosion in the days after a devastating earthquake, the country's nuclear safety agency said. They'll attempt to connect ventilation equipment in Unit... More »

Livid Parents Give Officials Bag of Radioactive Dirt

Fukushima parents angered by decision to raise radiation exposure levels

(Newser) - Parents outraged by the Japanese government's decision to raise the acceptable radiation exposure for children 20-fold presented government ministers in Tokyo with a bag of radioactive dirt from a school playground. The government says the move to increase the safety level from one to 20 millisieverts per year is... More »

Tepco: Fukushima Crisis Over in 6-9 Months

Plant operator outlines plans to shut down reactors

(Newser) - Tepco today laid out a plan to have the nuclear crisis at Fukushima Dai-ichi contained within six to nine months. "We sincerely apologize for causing troubles," said Chairman Tsunehisa Katsumata in unveiling the plan. "We are doing our utmost to prevent the crisis from further worsening."... More »

TEPCO Must Pay Fukushima Evacuees

Families will receive about $12K each as compensation

(Newser) - Tokyo Electric Power Co. has been ordered to pay evacuees a little something for their troubles—"little" being the operative word, complain many. Starting April 28, each family will receive about $12,000; individuals will get about $9,000, the AP reports. While some say it's a good... More »

US Warns of Fresh Threats at Fukushima

But radioactive water leak is finally plugged at crippled nuke plant

(Newser) - The Fukushima nuclear plant is facing fresh threats that could persist indefinitely, according to a report prepared by American experts and obtained by the New York Times . The engineers warn that steps being taken to stabilize the plant are presenting threats of their own, including the risk that containment structures... More »

Japan Fallout: What That Radioactive Water Means

Effect should be limited experts say

(Newser) - Should the Japanese be worried about the tens of thousands of tons of radioactive water that Tokyo Electric started dumping into the Pacific yesterday? Yes and no. The water around the Fukushima plant is likely to be contaminated for years, experts tell the Wall Street Journal , but the danger elsewhere... More »

Radioactive Water to Get Dumped Into Pacific

The 11.5K tons have only low-level radiation

(Newser) - In an effort to speed up the draining of its Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant, Tokyo Electric Power Co. said today that it will release 11,500 tons of low-level radioactive water into the Pacific Ocean. Ten thousand tons of water flooded a radioactive waste processing facility after last month's earthquake... More »

Two Workers' Bodies Recovered at Fukushima

Plant continues to leak highly radioactive water into the sea

(Newser) - The bodies of two workers have been recovered at Fukushima Dai-ichi, the first confirmed fatalities at the foundering nuclear plant. The men had rushed to check equipment in the basement in the wake of the 9.0 earthquake, reports the LA Times —and autopsies confirmed they were killed in... More »

Fukushima's Disaster Plan: A Stretcher and a Fax

Plant was woefully unprepared for natural disaster

(Newser) - Tokyo Electric Power Co. had a disaster plan in place at its Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant, but certainly not a very thorough one: It only involved one stretcher, and relied heavily on a satellite phone and fax machine for emergency communications. In a look at the plan, the Wall Street ... 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 »

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