Japanese nuclear disaster

Stories 21 - 40 | << Prev   Next >>

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...

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...

Japan Minister Quits Over Nuke Joke

PM moves quickly to quell gaffe fallout

(Newser) - Japan still isn't laughing about the devastating nuclear meltdown at Fukushima Dai-ichi, but its newest ex-minister of the nuclear industry apparently thinks it's quite amusing. After returning from a trip to Fukushima on Thursday, Yoshio Hachiro reportedly rubbed against a journalist, joking, "I'll give you radiation....

Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan Resigning
 Japan PM Resigning 
Aug 26, 2011 8:27 AM CDT

Japan PM Resigning

Naoto Kan will officially quit next week

(Newser) - Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan announced today he would resign after almost 15 months in office amid plunging approval ratings over his government's handling of the tsunami disaster and nuclear crisis. In a nationally televised speech, Kan said he was stepping down as chief of the ruling Democratic Party...

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,...

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...

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 Bans 'Radioactive' Green Tea

Contamination found in tea plantations near Fukushima

(Newser) - Some green tea just got unhealthy. Japan has banned the shipment of green tea leaves from a wide swath of tea-growing regions north of Tokyo after excessive levels of radioactive contamination were detected. The ban, the latest to affect produce from around the Fukushima nuclear plant, covers both fresh and...

Japan's PM Beats Censure, Hints He'll Resign

Naoto Kan acknowledged 'shortcomings' after earthquake

(Newser) - Prime Minister Naoto Kan defeated a no-confidence motion today over his handling of Japan's triple disasters, but the victory may be short lived—he said he is willing to resign once the country's recovery kicks in. Kan, who has been criticized for delays in the construction of temporary...

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...

Japan Bans Entering Evacuation Zone

Residents barred from returning amidst radiation fears

(Newser) - The 12.5 miles surrounding the foundering Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant are now officially off limits, the Japanese government announced yesterday. Until now, the government had merely advised people that entering the evacuation zone was a bad idea, but many residents ignored that advice, venturing in to retrieve their possessions...

Japan: Here, Eat Some Veggies
 Japan: Here, Eat Some Veggies 
Apr 16, 2011 6:20 AM CDT

Japan: Here, Eat Some Veggies

They're good for you, not oozing radiation

(Newser) - Japan has become the latest ardent convert of the locavore movement, reports the Washington Post, launching a public relations blitz intent on convincing its citizenry that produce fresh from the nuclear-contaminated Fukushima prefecture is safe, even yummy. The government even opened a restaurant yesterday, making a show of high-ranking politicians...

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...

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...

India Bans All Japan Food Imports

US eateries installing radiation detectors

(Newser) - India has slapped a ban on all food imports from Japan out of fear of radiation from the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant. The ban will last for three months or until "credible information is available that the radiation hazard has subsided to acceptable limits," the Indian government says. Many...

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...

Radiation Thwarts Search for Bodies in Japan

Many near Fukushima Dai-ichi reactor can't be recovered

(Newser) - Japanese authorities delivered some devastating news to the thousands waiting for word of their loved ones’ fates yesterday: Radiation may prevent many bodies near the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant from being recovered. Yesterday, for example, police told CNN that they found a body in the town of Okuma, but had to...

Japan Evacuees: Clinics Deny Care Over Contagion Fears

Worries are groundless—but unsurprising, says expert

(Newser) - Fearing contagion from exposure to radioactivity, Japanese shelters and clinics are rejecting hundreds of evacuees from near the Fukushima nuclear plant, reports the Telegraph . The institutions are requiring certificates from evacuees that show they haven’t faced exposure. Such concerns, however, are “completely irrational,” says a British expert...

Stories 21 - 40 | << Prev   Next >>