Fukushima update – Nuclear reactor nearly under control?

What’s next for Japan… and the US

On Tuesday they will be announcing a new timetable, but it’s expected to include cold shutdown by January (cold, again, being relative, but a lot cooler than the temperature of boiling water). At this point only 19 of Japan’s 54 reactors are actually up and running, and earlier this week Japan’s Prime Minister said it’s time for Japan to start moving toward becoming a nuclear-free society.

So the next time an American company pushing nuclear power tells you “We have safeguards in place! We know what we’re doing! We can handle emergencies!” … keep this in mind:

Four months in to the Fukushima disaster, some of the best engineers in the world have things “nearly under control” – which means the temperature is down to the boiling point of water, it’s not leaking too much, and it’s not going to explode (probably).

So you may well ask: Why is the US Senate about to vote on more subsidies for the nuclear power industry?

“I’m watching everything get cut back. We’re in one fierce argument over the debt limit. There isn’t going to be money,” Senator Diane Feinstein (D-CA) said at today’s hearing. ”The one thing that so far is going ahead is the nuclear stuff … To me, it’s just not the best thing since sliced bread.”

Find out more… and tell your Senators what you think!

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