Japan

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Radiation in Fukushima, Nearby Waters Spikes

Radioactive iodine hits 10 million times normal level, forcing evacuation

(Newser) - Radiation is spiking both in and around the stricken Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant, forcing workers to evacuate the plant. Radioactive iodine in water leaking from the No. 2 reactor's turbine housing unit soared to 10 million times the usual limit, said Tokyo Electric Power Co., where workers had been struggling...

Japan Fears Reactor Core Breach

Damage may have occurred in explosion last week

(Newser) - Japanese officials fear that one of the reactor cores of the Fukushima nuclear facility may have been breached, raising the specter of significant environmental damage and halting work at the nuclear complex. "It is possible that somewhere the reactor may have been damaged," says a spokesman for the...

Japan Earthquake, Tsunami Death Toll Passes 10K
 Japan Death Toll 
 Passes 10K 
Mar 25, 2011 6:00 AM CDT

Japan Death Toll Passes 10K

17K still missing as concern grows over food, water

(Newser) - A sad milestone out of Japan: Two weeks after the quake struck, its official death toll has broken the 10,000 mark—and that number is still on the rise, with more than 17,400 missing. Police estimate the toll will surpass 15,000 in the hardest-hit prefecture alone. Among...

China Reports Radiation on 2 Japanese Tourists

It 'seriously exceeded' safety levels, say officials

(Newser) - Not only Japan but the Japanese themselves have apparently become a source of radiation. Radiation "seriously exceeding" safety levels was discovered on two tourists traveling from Japan to eastern China, Chinese officials report. The two were given medical attention at a local hospital, and they pose no risk to...

Japan Resorts to Mass Graves
 Japan Resorts to Mass Graves 
Mar 23, 2011 2:16 PM CDT

Japan Resorts to Mass Graves

Quake left too many dead to cremate

(Newser) - Thanks to the earthquake, the Japanese have been forced to do a lot of something they usually avoid at all costs: burying their dead. Japan’s Buddhist traditions dictate that bodies should be cremated, and the ashes stored in family tombs; burial is outright illegal in many places. But with...

Baby Dolphin Rescued From Japan Tsunami Trap
 Baby Dolphin 
 Rescued From 
 Rice Paddy 
TSUNAMI AFTERMATH
Mar 23, 2011 1:37 PM CDT

Baby Dolphin Rescued From Rice Paddy

Man pulls animal out, drives it to sea

(Newser) - A baby dolphin trapped in a flooded rice paddy after Japan’s tsunami has been returned to the sea, Reuters reports. "A man passing by said he had found the dolphin in the rice paddy and that we had to do something to save it," says a pet...

Radiation Spikes in Tokyo Tap Water

Don't use water for infant formula, officials advise

(Newser) - Radiation in Tokyo tap water has spiked to twice the level considered safe for infants, sparking a new round of fears in Japan over the nation's crippled nuclear reactors. Rising smoke, meanwhile, prompted a new evacuation of workers trying to plug leaks in the Fukushima Dai-ichi complex, reports AP . Infants...

Radioactive Milk a Threat —if You Drink 58K Cups

Heath officials blowing things way out of proportion in Japan: researcher

(Newser) - Japan is finding elevated radiation levels in milk, spinach, and water —scary, right? Richard Knox at NPR sits down with RPI health physicist Peter Caracappa to crunch some numbers about what those levels mean. The gist:
  • The max radiation a US nuclear worker is allowed to be exposed to
...

First American Victim of Japan Tsunami Confirmed

Taylor Anderson, 24, was last seen biking home from the school where she taught

(Newser) - From Japan, fresh heartbreak that truly hits home: The first known American victim of the earthquake has been confirmed. "It is with deep regret that we inform you that earlier this morning we received a call from the US Embassy in Japan that they had found our beloved Taylor's...

Buffett: Japan Presents 'Buying Opportunity'

Country's 'economic future' unchanged, says investing guru

(Newser) - There’s no need to panic about Japanese markets post-earthquake, says Warren Buffett: Such cataclysmic events often create a “buying opportunity,” he tells Reuters from South Korea. “It will take some time to rebuild,” but the market plunge “will not change the economic future of...

US Could Learn From Japanese Grace
 US Could 
 Learn From 
 Japanese Grace 
NICHOLAS KRISTOF
Mar 20, 2011 7:15 AM CDT

US Could Learn From Japanese Grace

Less pushiness, more selflessness is the solution, says Nick Kristof

(Newser) - Japan has long had an extreme dichotomy between its people and its politicians, and last week's earthquake underscored that fault line: "The Japanese government has been hapless. And the Japanese people have been magnificent, enduring impossible hardships with dignity and grace," writes Nicholas Kristof in the New York ...

Japan Pulls 2 Survivors From Rubble

Eighty-year-old and grandson rescued after 9 days

(Newser) - An 80-year-old woman and her 16-year-old grandson emerged today from the rubble in northeastern Japan, nine days after the 9.0 earthquake that leveled their two-story house. The teen, Jin Abe, finally managed to pull himself out of the wreckage, and authorities spotted him waving for help from the collapsed...

What It's Like to Drive Into a Tsunami

Driver captures moment when big wave takes his car for ride

(Newser) - The dramatic videos of Japan's earthquake and tsunami just keep coming. In this newly released one, a driver's camera captures the moment when a wave overwhelms his car on a coastal road. He got out safely. "When I turned the corner I could see the wall of water,"...

Japan Admits Response Fell Short

'In hindsight, we could have moved a little quicker,' says spokesman

(Newser) - As Japan continues its struggle to get the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant under control, a government spokesman acknowledged that the initial response to the earthquake and tsunami was lacking, reports AP . "In hindsight, we could have moved a little quicker in assessing the situation and coordinating all that information and...

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...

'Funny' Japanese Nuclear Boy Explains Disaster

Watch out for gas!

(Newser) - Confused about Japan's mounting nuclear disaster? Check out the nation's cheery animated "Nuclear Boy," a personification of the stricken Fukushima Dai-ichi's plant, on YouTube. Poor Genpatsu-kun (Nuclear Boy to you) gets an upset stomach and he "can't hold his poo any longer!" But he lets out...

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...

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...

Japan Has Robots All Over —Except at Nuke Plant

Humans are still being asked to risk their lives

(Newser) - Japan has built robots for all kinds of distinctly human tasks—from playing instruments to officiating at weddings—but none have been used in this nuclear mess, notes Reuters . Instead, humans are still being asked to risk their lives. Robots are common elsewhere in the nuclear industry, so what gives?...

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