nuclear-news

Fukushima nuclear crisis – a roundup of news, 31 march

Japan’s power crisis could last for months

THE term ”rolling blackouts” has become shorthand for noting one way Japan is trying to cope with its national calamity.
http://www.theage.com.au/business/japans-power-crisis-could-last-for-months-20110329-1ceqs.html

Setbacks mount in Japan over nuke facility
Setbacks are mounting in the crisis over Japan’s tsunami-damaged nuclear facility, with nearby seawater testing at its highest radiation levels yet.
http://news.theage.com.au/breaking-news-world/setbacks-mount-in-japan-over-nuke-facility-20110331-1cgi8.html

Japan’s crippled reactors may be shrouded
Japan is considering draping crippled reactor buildings at the Fukushima nuclear plant with a fabric to reduce radiation and using a tanker to siphon off contaminated water, a report says.
http://www.theage.com.au/world/japans-crippled-reactors-may-be-shrouded-20110330-1cg5a.html

Stem cell plan for nuclear operators
Japanese authorities are considering plans to collect and freeze cells from engineers and water cannon operators at the Fukushima nuclear power plant in case they are exposed to dangerous levels of radiation.
http://www.theage.com.au/world/stem-cell-plan-for-nuclear-operators-20110330-1cg5b.html

Sea contamination likely to be local: scientists
Radioactive contamination of the sea from Fukushima is likely to be only a local problem, but could lead to an exclusion zone if there is a major release of long-term pollutants, scientists say.
http://www.theage.com.au/environment/sea-contamination-likely-to-be-local-scientists-20110330-1cfnd.html

Japan engineers knew tsunami could overrun plant
Over the past two weeks, Japanese government officials and Tokyo Electric Power executives have repeatedly described the deadly combination of the most powerful quake in Japan’s history and the massive tsunami that followed as “soteigai”, or beyond expectations.
http://www.theage.com.au/environment/japan-engineers-knew-tsunami-could-overrun-plant-20110330-1cfmy.html

Japan’s nuclear crisis and radioactive half-lives
The passage of time has sharply reduced radiation from some elements with a short half-life at Japan’s quake-crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant but others will stay radioactive almost indefinitely.
http://www.theage.com.au/environment/japans-nuclear-crisis-and-radioactive-halflives-20110330-1cfmi.html

Fukushima: what is plutonium and what are the dangers?
Following is a factfile on plutonium, which Japan says has been found at very low levels at five locations at the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant:
http://www.theage.com.au/environment/fukushima-what-is-plutonium-and-what-are-the-dangers-20110330-1cfmb.html

Fears over N-plant close to Tokyo
AS Japan struggles to contain the crisis at the Fukushima, attention is switching to other nuclear plants that could pose an even greater risk
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/fears-over-n-plant-close-to-tokyo/story-e6frg6so-1226030969688

Japan radiation outside safety zone
RADIATION levels recorded at a village outside the evacuation zone around the quake-striken Fukushima nuclear plant are above safe levels, the UN atomic watchdog says.
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/breaking-news/japan-radiation-outside-safety-zone/story-e6frf7jx-1226031093076
Japan orders check of all nuclear reactors
JAPAN orders check of all nuclear reactors to ensure there will be no repeat of the crisis currently unfolding at stricken Fukushima plant.
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/breaking-news/japan-orders-check-of-all-nuclear-reactors/story-e6frf7jx-1226031016951
Japan, a land where it’s pollen versus radiation

http://www.crikey.com.au/2011/03/30/japan-a-land-where-its-pollen-versus-radiation/

Physicists Detect Low-Level Radioactivity from Japan Arriving in Seattle
Physicists are detecting radioactivity arriving in Seattle from Japanese nuclear reactors damaged in a tsunami following a mammoth earthquake, but the levels are far below what would pose a threat to … http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/03/110330131314htm

Japan’s crowdsourced radiation maps
Citizen scientists armed with Geiger counters are helping to map the spread of radiation from Japan
http://www.newscientist.com/blogs/onepercent/2011/03/crowdsourced-radiation-maps.html

Resin to be sprayed on Fukushima nuclear plant
With no sign of the crisis at Fukushima Daiichi being resolved any time soon, plans are now afoot to spray a resin over the embattled nuclear power plant
http://www.newscientistcom/blogs/shortsharpscience/2011/03/resin-to-be-sprayed-on-fukushi.html

U.S. Public Support For More Nuclear Power Slips

U.S. public support for expanding nuclear power appears to be slipping after Japan’s nuclear crisis while New York’s governor said on Tuesday an aging plant near New York City will be the top priority in a federal review of earthquake risk to such facilities.
http://planetark.org/enviro-news/item/61624
France And U.S. To Help Japan In Nuclear Crisis
France and the United States are to help Japan in its battle to contain radiation from a crippled nuclear complex where plutonium finds have raised public alarm over the world’s worst atomic crisis since Chernobyl in 1986.
http://planetark.org/enviro-news/item/61622

UK Must Push On With Nuclear Plans: Scientists
Nuclear plants remain one of the safest ways to make electricity, and Britain should not allow Japan’s tsunami-provoked problems to delay its new build plans, UK scientists said on Tuesday.
http://planetark.org/enviro-news/item/61621

Japan radiation spreads across Asia

MANILA: Small amounts of radiation from Japan’s leaking nuclear power plant have spread across Asia, deepening concerns for millions of people already wary of eating Japanese food.
http://www.postcourier.com.pg/20110330/business01.htm

March 31, 2011 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | - Fukushima 2011