Japan nuclear plant

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'Dangerous' Nuke Plant Opens Its Doors

Journalists witness 'twisted metal, crumpled trucks'

(Newser) - Reporters toured the Fukushima nuclear plant yesterday, looking out a bus window at debris that still littered the site some 8 months after a tsunami and earthquake devastated Japan, the Guardian reports. One reporter described "twisted metal, crumpled trucks, large water tanks that have been dented and bent,"...

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...

Japanese MP Takes Dare to Drink Fukushima Water

Gulp designed to prove it's safe

(Newser) - Under pressure from journalists to prove that decontaminated water from the Fukushima area is safe, Japanese lawmaker Yasuhiro Sonoda downed a glass of water taken from puddles underneath the reactors themselves during a news conference today, his hands visibly shaking as he did so, the BBC reports. But he did...

Experts: 30 Years Until Fukushima Can Be Closed

Process will be time-consuming and costly

(Newser) - Officials say Japan’s Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant is relatively stable, but a government panel still believes it will be at least 30 years before it can be safely decommissioned and closed. The panel of experts, named by Japan’s Atomic Energy Commission, noted that it took a decade...

Want to Go to Japan? It's Doling Out 10K Flights

Officials reassure foreign travelers that country is safe to visit

(Newser) - How to cope with the unpleasant reality of a major drop in tourism following March's earthquake and tsunami? Free stuff for tourists! Japan will attempt to woo back wary travelers by doling out 10,000 free airline tickets next year, the Japan Tourism Agency announced this week. Officials are...

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...

Towns Near Fukushima May Be Shut for Decades

Surrounding 12 miles show continuing radiation

(Newser) - Japan has been telling residents of the 12-mile evacuation zone around Fukushima Dai-ichi that they'll likely be going home next year—but now it looks like the government is finally ready to say otherwise. With dangerous radiation still evident in the area, it could be decades before those who...

Japanese Seethe Over Hushed Radiation Forecasts

Thousands exposed because gov't agencies refused responsibility

(Newser) - Anger is growing in Japan over the government hiding radiation forecasts from the public, causing unnecessary exposure to thousands, letting contaminants into the country's food supply, and not acknowledging that there even was a meltdown for three months after the initial disaster, reports the New York Times . Thousands of...

Fukushima Nuclear Plant Stabilized

Workers on track for cold shutdown within six months

(Newser) - Some good news from Japan: The Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant is stabilized and a cold shutdown should be achieved within six months. Even so, Tokyo Electric Power Co. warns that final cleanup—which will involve encasing the plant in concrete—could take more than 10 years. Engineers have recently...

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,...

Toyota to Recall 82K Hybrids in US

Highlander, Lexus hybrid SUVs have defective computer boards

(Newser) - Toyota will recall about 82,200 hybrid SUVs in the US because of computer boards with possible faulty wiring. The car giant said today’s recall will involve about 45,500 Highlander and 36,700 Lexus Rx 400h hybrid SUVs from its 2006 and 2007 lines. The action covers just...

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....

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...

Japanese Kids to Carry Radiation Meters

Fukushima city issuing dosimeters to 34K schoolchildren

(Newser) - For tens of thousands of schoolchildren in Japan, this year's back-to-school kit will include a radiation detector. Officials in Fukushima City, 37 miles south of the Fukushima nuclear complex, say that to address the concerns of parents, the dosimeters will be given to some 34,000 children from nursery...

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...

Japan Doubles Estimate of Radioactive Fallout at Fukushima Dai-ichi Plant
 Japan Doubles Fallout Estimate 
Jun 7, 2011 12:51 PM CDT

Japan Doubles Fallout Estimate

Government promises to create independent watchdog

(Newser) - The closer investigators look, the worse the news gets out of Japan's Fukushima Dai-ichi plant. A new government report doubles the estimated radioactive fallout from 370,000 to 770,000 terabecquerels so far, reports the BBC . If a terabecquerel sounds a little obscure, it may be easier to fathom...

In Tokyo, Workers Told to Show Up an Hour Earlier

As part of an attempt to conserve energy

(Newser) - Summer days will mean setting the alarm clock much earlier for some Tokyo city government employees: They began working an hour earlier today to conserve energy amid shortages caused by the Fukushima nuclear disaster. Workers on the earliest shift will start at 7:30am and be allowed to leave at...

Japan to Workers: Save Energy, Wear Hawaiian Shirts

Government looks to go casual amid power shortages

(Newser) - It's going to be a sweaty summer in Japanese government offices: The country is facing power shortages caused by the nuclear crisis, but many bureaucrats are balking at suggestions that they dress down for the summer to cut the need for air conditioning. The government's "Super Cool...

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...

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...

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