Fukushima Daiichi

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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...

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...

Japan Earthquake, Tsunami Death Toll Passes 10K
 Japan Death Toll 
 Passes 10K 
Mar 25, 2011 6:00 AM CDT

Japan Death Toll Passes 10K

17K still missing as concern grows over food, water

(Newser) - A sad milestone out of Japan: Two weeks after the quake struck, its official death toll has broken the 10,000 mark—and that number is still on the rise, with more than 17,400 missing. Police estimate the toll will surpass 15,000 in the hardest-hit prefecture alone. Among...

China Reports Radiation on 2 Japanese Tourists

It 'seriously exceeded' safety levels, say officials

(Newser) - Not only Japan but the Japanese themselves have apparently become a source of radiation. Radiation "seriously exceeding" safety levels was discovered on two tourists traveling from Japan to eastern China, Chinese officials report. The two were given medical attention at a local hospital, and they pose no risk to...

First Photos From Inside Fukushima Released

Images reveal tough conditions for 'Fukushima 50'

(Newser) - Japanese authorities have released the first photos from inside the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant since disaster struck. Workers in bulky radiation suits can be seen toiling in cramped conditions, trying to contain the release of radiation, Gawker reports. The workers inside the complex—known as the Fukushima 50—are being...

2 Japan Nuke Plant Workers Hospitalized

Tainted water 'seeped' through protective clothes

(Newser) - A pair of nuclear workers in Japan have been hospitalized amid concerns of exposure to radiation, the BBC reports. They had been laying cable at Fukushima Dai-ichi’s No. 3 reactor in an effort to fix its cooling system. “Although they wore protective clothing," said a spokesman, "...

US Has 72K Tons of Still-Hot Nuclear Waste

Amount is growing every year, but there's still no long-term storage solution

(Newser) - The US may not have a Fukushima-like crisis on its hands, but it does have plenty of still-hot nuclear waste piling up at plants across the country—71,862 tons of it, to be precise, reports the AP . Most of the waste is stored in cooling pools similar to those...

Radiation Spikes in Tokyo Tap Water

Don't use water for infant formula, officials advise

(Newser) - Radiation in Tokyo tap water has spiked to twice the level considered safe for infants, sparking a new round of fears in Japan over the nation's crippled nuclear reactors. Rising smoke, meanwhile, prompted a new evacuation of workers trying to plug leaks in the Fukushima Dai-ichi complex, reports AP . Infants...

Don't Fire Up Nuclear Plants Without Robots

William Saletan: They must be resistant to radiation and ready to go

(Newser) - An easy first lesson is emerging from Japan's nuclear mess: No nuclear reactors should be in operation anywhere unless they have robots ready to fend off disaster, writes William Saletan in Slate . He's not talking about run-of-the-mill robots that replace humans at menial tasks. He means expensive, radiation-resistant robots that...

Japan Gets Power Lines Hooked Up at Plant

But it will be days before they can test all the cooling systems

(Newser) - A potential milestone in Japan's efforts to get the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant under control: Workers have for the first time connected all six reactors to power lines, a development that could finally revive the plant's cooling systems, reports the AP . The caveat: They won't turn the juice back on to...

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...

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...

An Illustrated Guide to Japan's 'Radiation Problem'

Fukushima reactor having pretty tiny effect

(Newser) - Just how much radiation, relatively speaking, is leaking out of the Fukushima reactor? Randall Munroe, maker of the gloriously geeky xkcd webcomic , was getting pretty confused by the various media reports, so he talked to a friend who is the senior reactor operator at Reed Research Reactor, and with her...

Workers Evacuated From Japan Nuclear Plant

Smoke rises from damaged reactor

(Newser) - Workers at Japan's Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant were evacuated again today after smoke rose from one of the damaged reactors, the AP reports. The cause of the smoke was not yet clear. Earlier today, a village about 20 miles from the plant was advised by the Health Ministry its tap...

US Could Learn From Japanese Grace
 US Could 
 Learn From 
 Japanese Grace 
NICHOLAS KRISTOF
Mar 20, 2011 7:15 AM CDT

US Could Learn From Japanese Grace

Less pushiness, more selflessness is the solution, says Nick Kristof

(Newser) - Japan has long had an extreme dichotomy between its people and its politicians, and last week's earthquake underscored that fault line: "The Japanese government has been hapless. And the Japanese people have been magnificent, enduring impossible hardships with dignity and grace," writes Nicholas Kristof in the New York ...

Japan Makes Progress Stabilizing Nuclear Plant

Fukushima Dai-ichi gets some of its cooling functions back

(Newser) - The latest news from Japan's Fukushima Dia-ichi plant has a rare note of optimism—tempered with plenty of don't-get-your-hopes-up-too-high sentiment. The biggest bright spot is that workers have apparently restored power to the cooling systems of two reactors, Units 5 and 6, reports the Wall Street Journal . Those units posed...

Japan Finds Radiation in Water, Milk, Spinach

But official cautions that levels not high enough to affects humans

(Newser) - Japan has detected elevated radiation levels in spinach and milk in the prefecture containing its foundering Fukushima nuclear plant and a neighboring prefecture, reports the Wall Street Journal . Milk produced roughly 30 miles away from the plant had around five times the normal amount of radioactive material iodine-131, while spinach...

Japan Admits Response Fell Short

'In hindsight, we could have moved a little quicker,' says spokesman

(Newser) - As Japan continues its struggle to get the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant under control, a government spokesman acknowledged that the initial response to the earthquake and tsunami was lacking, reports AP . "In hindsight, we could have moved a little quicker in assessing the situation and coordinating all that information and...

Experts Fear Alarming Crack in Reactor Pool

Engineers may face unprecedented nuclear problem

(Newser) - The situation at Japan's stricken Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear complex may be even more dire than realized, according to American nuclear experts. Authorities at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission suspect that a crack or hole has developed in the floor or wall of a spent fuel pool at the complex, which will...

'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...

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