Archive for the 'Environment' Category
EMERGENCY: U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT CHARTERING FLIGHTS TO HELP AMERICANS EXIT JAPAN
March 17th, 2011Update / Confirmation: U.S. Starts Evacuating Some Americans Out of Japan Via: AP: The Obama administration has authorized the first evacuations of Americans out of Japan, and said it will charter aircraft to help U.S. citizens wishing to escape elevated radiation levels in the country. The State Department late Wednesday issued a warning to Americans […]
Australia Again Urges Citizens to Consider Leaving Japan; More Over Infrastructure Concerns than Radiation
March 17th, 2011Via: Reuters: Australia’s government on Thursday urged citizens in Tokyo and eight other affected prefectures to consider getting out of Japan, including the families of embassy staff. But it said its warning was because of infrastructure problems, not the fear of radiation. “We have a real problem in terms of the infrastructure in Japan. We […]
Head of U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission: “There is no water in the spent fuel pool and we believe that radiation levels are extremely high”
March 17th, 2011Via: AP: The chief of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission said Wednesday that all the water is gone from one of the spent fuel pools at Japan’s most troubled nuclear plant, raising the possibility of widespread nuclear fallout. But Japanese officials denied the pool was dry. “There is no water in the spent fuel pool […]
JAPAN ESTABLISHES 10KM EVACUATION ZONE AROUND THE DAINI NUCLEAR POWER PLANT
March 16th, 2011Via: CNN: [3:07 a.m. ET Wednesday, 4:07 p.m. Wednesday in Tokyo] As a safety precaution, the Japanese government is now telling people living within a 10-kilometer radius of the Daini plant, the second nuclear power plant in Fukushima, to evacuate. The Daini plant, which has four reactors, has reported fluctuating temperatures at its suppression pools. […]
High Demand for Private Jets as Wealthy Flee Japan
March 16th, 2011Via: Reuters: Thousands of people desperate to escape Japan’s deepening nuclear crisis have inundated private jet companies with requests for evacuation flights, sending prices surging as much as a quarter. Some multinational companies are pulling international staff out of Tokyo and surrounding areas after low-level radiation reached the metropolis on Tuesday. Workers are fleeing for […]
France Says Japan Losing Control of Nuclear Emergency, French Should Leave, or Head South
March 16th, 2011Via: Reuters: The French government said on Wednesday that Japan was losing control of the situation at the Fukushima nuclear power plant and urged its nationals in Tokyo to leave the country or head to southern Japan. The government has asked national carrier Air France (AIRF.PA) to increase capacity on its flights between Tokyo and […]
Germany Will Halt 25% of Nuclear Capacity for Safety Review
March 15th, 2011Via: Bloomberg: Germany will halt nuclear reactors accounting for 25 percent of its atomic energy capacity as part of a safety review after explosions at reactors in Japan. The country will keep its seven oldest nuclear reactors offline as part of a nationwide safety review to run through June, Chancellor Angela Merkel told reporters in […]
JAPAN: THREE NUCLEAR REACTORS MAY BE MELTING DOWN
March 14th, 2011Via: CNN: A blast at a nuclear reactor and a series of problems at a neighboring one led to a brief spike in radiation levels outside Japan’s troubled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant Monday, triggering even greater fears that dangerous radiation could add to the country’s devastation. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said he was not […]
Japan Has Asked for IAEA Help with Nuclear Emergency
March 14th, 2011Via: Montreal Gazette: Japan has officially asked the UN atomic watchdog to send a team of experts to help in the current nuclear crisis, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Yukiya Amano said Monday. “Today, the government of Japan asked the agency to provide expert missions. We are in discussions with Japan on the details,” […]
Germany: Nuclear Disaster ‘Will Have Political Impact as Great as 9/11’
March 14th, 2011Via: Der Spiegel: The nuclear accident at Japan’s Fukushima plant following Friday’s earthquake and tsunami has led to anxious questions in Germany about the safety of its own nuclear reactors and is putting the government under intense pressure to rethink its decision to extend plant lifetimes by an average of 12 years. German media commentators […]
