Fukushima Daiichi

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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,...

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....

If Fukushima Happened in US ... We'd Be Hosed

40% of Americans live within 50 miles of a nuclear plant

(Newser) - An AP investigation suggests that America's nuclear power plants and safety policies have not aged well: The once-rural areas around the plants have become far more crowded and difficult to evacuate, and the plants themselves are running at higher power and thus pose more of a risk in the...

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 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...

Opera Stars Ditch Japan Tour Over Radiation Fears

Experts say there's nothing to worry about

(Newser) - A pair of New York’s top opera stars due to sing in Japan have canceled their performances following the earthquake, the AP reports. Now, the Metropolitan Opera has to “scour the world” to find replacement singers for soprano Anna Netrebko and tenor Joseph Calleja, even though experts said...

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...

TEPCO Head Resigns Amid Huge Losses

Masataka Shimizu steps down in disgrace over Fukushima disaster

(Newser) - 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...

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...

Quake Sent Japan Back Into Recession

Exports, domestic spending hit hard by disasters

(Newser) - More misery for Japan: The triple disasters that struck the country in March sent the country's economy sliding into its second recession in three years, according to the latest government figures. The earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear crisis disrupted production and caused a collapse in consumer spending, reports the BBC...

US Reactors Have Same Flaw as Fukushima

Venting system is same as one that failed at Japan plant

(Newser) - US officials have long insisted that American nuclear plants are safe from the kind of crisis that hit Japan’s Fukushima Dai-ichi plant, because they have a newer, better venting system. But Tokyo Electric has now revealed that it installed the exact same vents years ago, the New York Times...

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...

First Fukushima Worker Dies
 First Fukushima Worker Dies 
May 14, 2011 9:18 AM CDT

First Fukushima Worker Dies

But no radioactive material found on body of man, in his 60s

(Newser) - More bad news out of Fukushima: A worker at the plant died today, the first casualty since the stabilization effort began. A TEPCO rep says the man's body did not show any signs of radiation overexposure and no radioactive material was found on his body, but the cause...

Japan Nuke Reactor in Worse Shape Than Thought

Water had leaked from reactor No. 1, exposing fuel rods

(Newser) - Fukushima Dai-ichi's nuclear reactor No. 1 is damaged more seriously than originally thought—it's leaking water, reports the New York Times . The containment vessel at reactor No. 1 had been considered secure; but when Tokyo Electric workers were finally able to gain access to a water gauge yesterday,...

Japan to Aging Nuke Plant: Shut Down

Hamaoka plant in earthquake-prone region closer to Tokyo than Fukushima Dai-ichi

(Newser) - Nearly two months after an earthquake-tsunami one-two sent Fukushima Dai-ichi into a nuclear crisis that will haunt it for decades, Japan is telling another aging nuclear plant to close its doors until it can muster stronger defenses against Mother Nature. The decision might seem like it took an eternity to...

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