Fukushima Daiichi

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Workers Venture Back Into Exploded Reactor

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

(Newser) - 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...

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...

Japan Launching Massive Recovery Mission

Soldiers aim to retrieve bodies from land and sea

(Newser) - Japan will begin an extensive recovery mission tomorrow, sending almost 25,000 soldiers into the disaster zone to look for the bodies of last month’s earthquake and tsunami victims. About 14,300 people are confirmed dead, but another 12,000 are still missing and presumed killed, the AP reports....

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...

Reactor Basement Losing Its Radioactive Water

In three-week process it will be removed then ultimately purified

(Newser) - Tokyo Electric began the painstaking process of pumping radioactive water out of the basement of a turbine building at the Fukushima Nuclear Power Station today, dumping it into a special storage building. It’ll be a frustratingly slow process, the New York Times reports, with technicians daring only to extract...

Robot Detects Radiation Still Too High for Japan Workers

But Tepco officials say this will not affect their reactor shutdown plans

(Newser) - An American robot sent into the crippled nuclear reactor buildings at Fukushima Dai-ichi has detected radiation levels too high for workers to enter, more than a month after a quake and tsunami crippled the plant, reports the AP . Reactor Unit 1 measured 49 millisieverts per hour, and Unit 3 reached...

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."...

Radioactivity Spikes Again in Sea Near Fukushima Plant

It could be a sign of more leaks

(Newser) - Radioactivity has been rising in the seawater around the Fukushima nuclear plant in recent days, which could mean that the plant has new leaks, reports AP . Japanese authorities today reported increased levels of iodine-131, cesium-134, and cesium-137. "We want to determine the origin and contain the leak, but I...

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...

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...

What Does Fukushima's Level 7 Mean?

It sounds really, really bad. Is it?

(Newser) - Japan has made the decision to raise the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear disaster severity level from 5 to 7. That obviously means "worse." But what else does it mean?
  • Japan finally has an estimate on how much radiation has been released: The level is an indication of the total
...

Japan Nuke Crisis Raised to Chernobyl Level

Fukushima Dai-ichi may have spilled more radiation than thought

(Newser) - Japan has decided to raise the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear disaster from 5 to 7, according to government sources, a severity level only previously seen in Chernobyl, reports Kyodo News. The country's Nuclear Safety Commission today found that at times after the breach, the plant was emitting some 10,000 terabecquerels...

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...

Tsunami Warning Follows New 7.1 Quake in Japan
 Another 7.1 Quake Hits Japan 
UPDATED
Apr 11, 2011 4:02 AM CDT

Another 7.1 Quake Hits Japan

On one-month anniversary of massive shaker

(Newser) - A fresh tsunami warning has been issued in Japan following a powerful 7.1-magnitude aftershock off the northeast coast today. Tokyo's international airport was shut briefly and shoppers at an electronics store in central Sendai screamed and raced outside, but returned after a short time when windows stopped rattling, reports...

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...

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,...

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...

Little Damage Reported After New Japan Quake
 2 Killed in Japan Aftershock 
UPDATED
Apr 7, 2011 11:54 PM CDT

2 Killed in Japan Aftershock

All appears normal at Fukushima plant after 7.1-magnitude quake

(Newser) - Thursday's 7.1-magnitude aftershock killed at least two people in Japan and injured dozens more as it shook Japan's battered northeast but the Fukushima nuclear plant was spared, reports AP. The aftershock knocked out power at three other nuclear plants, but backup systems kicked in, notes the New York Times...

Japan's Search for Bodies Enters Evacuation Zone

Officers race against time as bodies decompose

(Newser) - Clad in protective suits, some 340 police officers began the search for bodies within the 12-mile evacuation zone surrounding the Fukushima plant today. Nearly four weeks have passed since the earthquake, and some 4,200 who lived within the zone remain missing, reports the New York Times . Officials now say...

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...

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