Browsing the "nuclear disaster" Tag

Fukushima leaks 15 tons of radioactive water

As they try to clean up what may be the worst nuclear disaster in history at Fukushima, they continue to make things worse.

More trouble for flooded nuclear reactors in Nebraska

As bad news continues to come in from Japan’s nuclear meltdown at Fukushima, a similar situation may be beginning on our own shores. Two nuclear reactors in Nebraska are threatened by floodwaters… and while officials keep insisting there’s no danger and everything is under control, that’s not exactly reassuring.

Especially since one of their control systems collapsed over the weekend.

Shades of Fukushima – flooded Nebraska plant loses power

Will this be our Fukushima? It’s certainly not at the point of being a major disaster yet, but… What turned Fukushima from a crisis to a disaster was the way Tokyo Electric (TEPCO) mishandled its attempts to keep control of their nuclear power plants.

As flood waters rise in the American heartland, it’s disconcerting to see the way a similar scenario is playing out…

After Fukushima, Wikileaks points to the disasters waiting to happen

If a techincally-advanced country like Japan with a reputation for exactitude can suffer from one of the worst nuclear disasters in history, should we be a litttle more worried about places where security and infrastructure are poor to non-existent and corruption is rampant?

That’s the theme of a special report compiled for Reuters, based on diplomatic cables assembled from the Wikileaks treasure trove. And it’s kinda scary.

Japan admits total meltdown, says it was unprepared for Fukushima disaster

Considering that the Fukushima nuclear reactor complex is still leaking high levels of radiation nearly three months after the disaster and meltdowns, it shouldn’t be too much of a surprise to learn that Japan was totally unprepared to deal with it.

But it’s encouraging that, after months of downplaying the dangers and offering uberoptimistic assessments of progress, the Japanese government is finally admitting the truth:

Fukushima radioactivity highest in three months

It’s been three months since the crisis began at Japan’s Fukushima nuclear reactor complex, and they’re no closer to cleaning up the radioactive mess. In fact, things may be getting worse.

Japan’s NHK TV broadcast a hellish image of radioactive steam billowing out of cracks in the reactor floor. They also reported high levels of radiation.

Tokyo Electric Power Company inspected the inside of the No.1 reactor building on Friday with a remote-controlled robot.

TEPCO said it found that steam was rising from a crevice in the floor, and that extremely high radiation of 3,000 to 4,000 millisieverts per hour was measured around the area. The radiation is believed to be the highest detected in the air at the plant.