3 nuclear reactors melted down after quake, Japan confirms

Tokyo (CNN) -- Japan's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant experienced full meltdowns at three reactors in the wake of an earthquake and tsunami in March, the country's Nuclear Emergency Response Headquarters said Monday.
The nuclear group's new evaluation, released Monday, goes further than previous statements in describing the extent of the damage caused by an earthquake and tsunami on March 11.
The announcement will not change plans for how to stabilize the Fukushima Daiichi plant, the agency said.
Reactors 1, 2 and 3 experienced a full meltdown, it said.
The plant's owner, Tokyo Electric Power Co., admitted last month that nuclear fuel rods in reactors 2 and 3 probably melted during the first week of the nuclear crisis.
It had already said fuel rods at the heart of reactor No. 1 melted almost completely in the first 16 hours after the disaster struck. The remnants of that core are now sitting in the bottom of the reactor pressure vessel at the heart of the unit and that vessel is now believed to be leaking.

read the rest at http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/asiapcf/06/06/japan.nuclear.meltdown/index.html?eref=rss_topstories&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fcnn_topstories+%28RSS%3A+Top+Stories%29&utm_content=Google+International

People running for their lives

You might have seen this in Yahoo, but anyway, sad to see people watching their home washed away, and friends running for their lives.

OMG! Japan raise to Level 7 nuclear crisis, on par with Chernobyl

This has been rumored all day and now it's official.
Fukushima has been raised to a level 7 nuclear crisis, putting it on par with Chernobyl.
The Nikkei is down 1.6% in mid-day trading.


Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/fukushima-raised-to-level-7-2011-4#ixzz1JGz2i7a2

Traces of Japan radioactivity in US rain

WASHINGTON - Traces of radioactivity from damaged nuclear power facilities in Japan have been detected in rainwater in the northeast United States, but pose no health risks, officials said.

The Environmental Protection Agency, in an update Sunday, said it had received reports of "elevated levels of radiation in recent precipitation events" in Massachusetts and Pennsylvania and that it was "reviewing this data."

The EPA has been monitoring radiation from the Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan, and had previously detected "very low levels of radioactive material" in the United States, while saying that these "were expected" and that "the levels detected are far below levels of public health concern."

"Elevated levels of radioactive material in rainwater have been expected as a result of the nuclear incident after the events in Japan since radiation is known to travel in the atmosphere," the EPA added.

The agency has stepped up its monitoring of precipitation, drinking water, and other potential exposure routes for radiation as a precaution.

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_asiapacific/view/1119349/1/.html

Look at that!

the green roof building totally destroyed, and the row of building on the right too, gone!

FUKUSHIMA: Highly Radioactive Water Is Leaking From Three Reactors; Japan Urges Locals To Flee

TEPCO announced that highly radioactive water is leaking from reactors 1, 2, and 3, according to Kyodo. This will make repairs at the nuke plant significantly harder

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/fukushima-friday-march-25-2011-3#ixzz1HfWQyvou

Japan agency raises Fukushima accident level to 5

OSAKA, Japan - Japan's nuclear safety agency on Friday raised the Fukushima crisis level to five from four on the international scale of gravity for atomic accidents, which goes to as high as seven.

The decision by the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency (NISA) puts Fukushima on the same level as the 1979 accident at Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania and makes it the worst ever in Japan.

A spokesman for the agency said it had alerted the IAEA on its decision, which was made due to the condition of reactors one, two and three at the plant stricken by last week's massive earthquake and tsunami that devastated swathes of northeastern Japan.

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_asiapacific/view/1117345/1/.html