Category Archives: Fukushima

New problem at Fukushima: Groundwater leaking into contaminated plant and how to dispose of it

Posted on May 4, 2013 by

 The New York Times reported April 29: Two years after a triple meltdown that grew into the world’s second worst nuclear disaster, the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant is faced with a new crisis: a flood of highly radioactive wastewater … Continue reading →

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Steel beam falls into spent fuel pool during cleanup at Fukushima Unit 3

Posted on September 29, 2012 by

World Nuclear News reported yesterday: An incident occurred in the course of the work on 22 September when a truss about seven metres long and weighing about 470 kilograms slipped into the fuel pond during remote cutting and handling. Tepco … Continue reading →

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Fukushima hit by 5.9 earthquake

Posted on April 1, 2012 by

The Wall Street Journal reported this morning: An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.9 shook Fukushima Prefecture and its vicinity in eastern Japan on Sunday night, the Japan Meteorological Agency said, according to the Kyodo News Agency. Here’s a … Continue reading →

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And the winner of the No Duh Award: TEPCO scraps plans for new reactors at Fukushima

Posted on March 30, 2012 by

Reuters just reported this acknowledgement of the blindingly obvious: Tokyo Electric Power Co, or Tepco, said on Friday it had notified Japan’s trade ministry it was dropping plans for two more nuclear reactors at its Fukushima Daiichi plant, paralyzed last year … Continue reading →

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New TEPCO report says damage to Fukushima Unit 2 may be worse than previously thought

Posted on March 30, 2012 by

The New York Times reported this afternoon: The damage to the core of at least one of the meltdown-stricken reactors at Fukushima could be worse than previously thought, raising new concerns over the plant’s stability and complicating the post-disaster cleanup, … Continue reading →

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Update: TEPCO tests find fatal levels of radiation, almost no water in Unit 2 reactor

Posted on March 27, 2012 by

Central Florida News carried an Associated Press story today on the latest from Fukushima Daiichi Unit 2: A new probe at Japan’s crippled nuclear power plant has found fatal radiation levels and hardly any cooling water inside one of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Coolant leak, Fukushima, Japan, Plant shutdowns, Radiation leak, Reactor problems, TEPCO | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Water level continues to fall at Fukushima reactor

Posted on March 27, 2012 by

The Japan Times reported today: The water cooling the core of the crippled Fukushima power plant’s No. 2 reactor is only 60 cm deep, Tokyo Electric Power Co. said Monday, all but confirming experts’ fears that the unit is breached … Continue reading →

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New studies find highest levels of radiation in Japanese soil and cesium in plankton 375 miles offshore

Posted on March 23, 2012 by

Two new studies show ongoing concerns with radiation from Fukushima. As Earthweek reported today: …the Environment Ministry announced that levels of cesium have soared to 154,000 becquerels per kilogram in soil around the Fukushima prefecture village of Iitate. That’s about 25 … Continue reading →

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“You can’t adequately prepare for a disaster that you don’t admit can ever happen.”

Posted on March 9, 2012 by

In a new study of the causes and effects of the Fukushima disaster, Koichi Kitazawa, former president of the Japan Science and Technology Agency, says that the root of the problem is a culture in the nuclear industry that holds … Continue reading →

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NPR doing great programming on one-year anniversary of Fukushima

Posted on March 8, 2012 by

Starting yesterday, National Public Radio began a series of reports on the earthquake and resulting meltdowns at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. Yesterday’s initial report featured an American nuclear worker who was at the plant when the earthquake struck. … Continue reading →

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