Japan earthquake

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'Supermoon' Nearest Earth Tomorrow

But contrary to rumor, it had nothing to do with Japan's earthquake

(Newser) - Hope for clear skies: A "supermoon" is due tomorrow. NASA scientist Jim Garvin explains that a supermoon is "when the moon is slightly closer to Earth in its orbit than on average"—a situation that’s "most noticeable" when it coincides with a full moon, as...

Japan Nuclear Plant Solution: Bury It?

Crisis continues as authorities rush to cool reactors by any means necessary

(Newser) - Japan is considering burying its troubled nuclear plant in sand and concrete—the same move made in Chernobyl 25 years ago, Reuters reports. “It is not impossible to encase the reactors in concrete. But our priority right now is to try and cool them down first,” said an...

Experts Fear Alarming Crack in Reactor Pool

Engineers may face unprecedented nuclear problem

(Newser) - The situation at Japan's stricken Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear complex may be even more dire than realized, according to American nuclear experts. Authorities at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission suspect that a crack or hole has developed in the floor or wall of a spent fuel pool at the complex, which will...

US Launches Safety Review of All 104 Nuke Plants

As do other countries, like China

(Newser) - The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is launching a comprehensive review of all 104 reactors in America. Other countries, including China, are taking similar steps as the Japan nuclear crisis unfolds. President Obama called for the review yesterday as he assured Americans that they are unlikely to face harmful radiation from the...

Japan Nearly Done With Back-Up Power Line

It could restart plant's cooling system; Nikkei opens strong

(Newser) - In Japan, this might qualify as good news on the nuclear front: The UN nuclear agency says the situation is "very serious" but that it hasn't gotten much worse over the last 24 hours, reports the Voice of America . And in another glimmer of hope, officials say they're close...

Rush Limbaugh: I Wasn't Mocking Japan's Refugees

He says he was ridiculing Diane Sawyer's news report

(Newser) - Rush Limbaugh says he's no Gilbert Gottfried and that his critics are off base in accusing him of laughing at victims of Japan's earthquake . On today's show, he says he was ridiculing a Diane Sawyer news report about the refugees—not the refugees themselves—because of its focus on how...

Panicked Chinese Hoard Salt After Japan's Quake

Shoppers buy rumor that it protects against radiation

(Newser) - With Japan and its stricken nuclear reactors in mind, waves of misinformation and panic are sweeping through China. Shoppers have cleaned shelves of iodized salt, believing rumors that it can protect against radioactive exposure—table salt doesn't have enough iodine to do that—or that China's supply will be contaminated,...

Elderly Hit Hard by Japan Quake

Those who survived face shortages of medicine, shelter

(Newser) - Japan is an aging nation, with one in four people over 65. And as the search-and-rescue effort continues after the earthquake and tsunami, it's becoming clear that older residents were hit especially hard, reports AP . Many had no way of escaping the waves that shredded homes and tossed cars around...

Obama: Radiation Poses No Risk to US

President says West Coast won't see Japan fallout, endorses nuclear energy

(Newser) - President Obama reaffirmed today that Americans in Japan should get at least 50 miles away from the damaged nuclear plant, but he doesn't think Americans elsewhere have much cause for worry: "I want to be very clear," he said in a brief statement on the crisis. "We...

Fukushima Plant Worker: 'Please Stop Attacking Us'

My coworkers are putting their lives on the line, she says

(Newser) - Michiko Otsuki is sick of people ripping on Tokyo Electric Power Co. Otsuki is one of the workers who evacuated from the Fukushima nuclear plant on Monday, and afterward she took to her blog to give the people she left behind there a voice. “People have been flaming Tepco,...

'48 Hours to Worse Than Chernobyl'


 '48 Hours to Worse 
 Than Chernobyl' 
UPDATED
Mar 17, 2011 7:54 AM CDT

'48 Hours to Worse Than Chernobyl'

The Japanese have lost control, officials warn

(Newser) - Officials around the world are increasingly concerned that Japan's mounting nuclear disaster is out of control. "It would be hard to describe how alarming this is right now," an American official tells ABC News . He warns that unless Japan can get all of its crippled nuclear plants under...

Traces of Radiation to Reach US Friday

UN charts radiation plume

(Newser) - A plume of radiation from stricken Japanese nuclear reactors is crossing the Pacific and will be detectable in southern California by tomorrow, according to a United Nations forecast. Experts stress that the radiation in the plume will be extremely diluted and will, at worst, have very minor health consequences for...

Pentagon, State Offer to Evacuate Tokyo Residents

Evacuation offered to families of US personnel

(Newser) - US authorities have offered to evacuate the family members of State Department and Pentagon personnel from a large area of Japan, including Tokyo. As radiation from stricken nuclear reactors spreads, a travel alert has been issued warning American citizens to avoid non-essential travel to Japan and urging Americans already in...

Radiation Levels 'Extremely High': US Nuclear Official

Watchdog Chief Says Japan Is Understating Dangers

(Newser) - The situation at the Dai-ichi nuclear plant is worse than Japanese officials are acknowledging, says the head of the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission. “We believe that radiation levels are extremely high, which could possibly impact the ability to take corrective measures," Gregory Jaczko told Congress, while advising Americans...

Another Reactor May Be Leaking Radioactivity

Japan doubles number of workers inside to 100

(Newser) - The news remains grim from Japan's Fukishima Dai-ichi plant. Two of the six reactors there may now be leaking radioactive steam, reports the New York Times , which again characterizes the official pronouncements as confusing. In the meantime, the 50 emergency workers who were yanked off the site earlier have returned,...

Rush Laughs at Japanese Refugees

Why would 'Gaia' do this to such an eco-conscious country?

(Newser) - Leave it to Rush Limbaugh to find some levity in the plight of Japanese refugees. Specifically, the radio show host is amused by the fact that one refugee camp is still recycling. A caller on yesterday’s show—after hearing a clip Limbaugh played of a Diane Sawyer report on...

Japan Nuclear Power Plant Crisis: Government Was Warned of Safety Issues in 2008, WikiLeaks Cables Reveal
 Japan Was Warned 
 About Nuke Safety in '08 
wikileaks reveal
Mar 16, 2011 7:54 AM CDT

Japan Was Warned About Nuke Safety in '08

WikiLeaks cables also reveal a number of other past concerns

(Newser) - The Japanese government was warned in 2008 that a strong earthquake would be a “serious problem” for the country’s nuclear power stations, WikiLeaks cables reveal. An International Atomic Energy Agency official declared twin concerns at a meeting of the G8’s Nuclear Safety and Security Group: that safety...

Scared Americans Stock Up on Anti-Radiation Pills

Potassium iodide, Geiger counters flying off the shelves

(Newser) - An ocean away from the unfolding nuclear crisis in Japan, worried Americans are stocking up on Geiger counters and supplements that can block one effect of radiation exposure. Pharmacies around the country are rapidly running out of potassium iodide, which can protect the thyroid gland from radiation damage, the AP...

Japan's Emperor: Don't Give Up

'I'm deeply concerned about nuclear situation,' says Akihito

(Newser) - In a sign of the increasingly critical nature of Japan's nuclear plant tragedy, the nation's emperor appeared on TV to plead with his countrymen: Don't give up. "I am deeply concerned about the nuclear situation because it is unpredictable," said Emperor Akihito in a rare address to the...

Calif. Student Spots Japanese Family Alive on YouTube

She sees sister waving sign that family is safe

(Newser) - Need to check on your family after a tragedy? Tune into YouTube. That's what a University of California student did to find any scrap of information about her family back in Japan. She was thrilled to spot her sister in a 45-second YouTube video waving a placard announcing: "We...

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