Nuclear Power & Radiation

The Japanese nuclear disaster is a reminder that the storage of spent fuel in temporary facilities across the United States may be a disaster waiting to happen.

"Japanese officials took some solace Wednesday in halting leaks of radioactive water from the nation's crippled nuclear plant. But in Washington, internal e-mails from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission revealed doubts within the organization about procedures for U.S. plants in a Fukushima-style event."

"United States government engineers sent to help with the crisis in Japan are warning that the troubled nuclear plant there is facing a wide array of fresh threats that could persist indefinitely, and that in some cases are expected to increase as a result of the very measures being taken to keep the plant stable, according to a confidential assessment prepared by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission."

"As the operator of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station continued to dump radioactive water into the Pacific Ocean on Tuesday, company officials said that seawater collected near the facility contained radiation several million times the legal limit."

"The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant could continue to release dangerous radiation into the air for several months, Japanese officials said Sunday, acknowledging their painstakingly slow progress in the battle to regain control of the badly damaged facility."

"The nuclear disaster is now also a disaster for Fukushima's farmers. The government has banned the sale of milk, spinach and other leafy vegetables, not just from here but also from the neighboring prefectures."

"The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is conducting a 'more intensive review' of several U.S. plants as part of its 'very conservative' safety review system, its chairman told lawmakers at a hearing on Thursday."

"The nuclear crisis in Japan provides an impetus for Congress to confront a failed national policy on dealing with spent fuel from U.S. reactors, witnesses told a Senate subcommittee yesterday."

"The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has allowed reactors to phase out some equipment that eliminates explosive hydrogen, the gas that blew up the outer containments of three reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi in Japan."

"The Indian Point nuclear power plant is currently in violation of fire safety regulations and is seeking more than 100 exemptions from those regulations, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said Monday."