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Fukushima 2013 to 20013? Legacy of the Nuclear Age
Next week marks the second anniversary of the nuclear accident at the Fukushima reactors in Japan. Remember? The days and weeks we collectively crossed our fingers as heroic workers improvised and threw everything they could at melting reactors and damaged spent fuel pools to stave off disaster? Seems like a long time gone and Fukushima has, in our collective consciousness, faded into a historical nuclear footnote. “Close call,” we may think, “but the danger is over.” Not quite. In fact, not even close. Read more »
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Posted by Paul Carroll on March 7, 2013
Japan, Chernobyl, fukushima, Hanford, Nuclear Zero, Russia, Three Mile Island, Yucca Mountain, United States
Up Next for Iran: Embargo, Pressure, and Continued Talks
On the radar: Keeping talks technical; Containment in all but name; EU oil embargo going ahead; Iranians and ultimatums; Kennan retooled; Corker’s New START criticism; Allison on the Cuban-Missile Crisis; Seafood after Fukushima; DOE pit report; #Nukeratti; Sen. Corker’s treaty opinions; 13 days, 50 years later; and Blinky the 3-eyed fish.   Read more »
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Posted on June 26, 2012
Not With a Whimper, But a Bang?
We aren't the only ones concerned about nuclear disasters. National Geographic’s “Doomsday Dashboard” uses Twitter feeds to see which "end-of-the-world scenario" has people the most worried. Read more »
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Posted by Nora Wilkinson on June 22, 2012
fukushima, Nuclear Weapons, radiation
The Fukushima Saga, Cont.
More than a year after the Tohoku earthquake rocked Japan, concerns about the safety of the Fukushima nuclear facility persist. Fortunately, through efforts like that of Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR), it seems that we are moving forward toward better nuclear policies and practices. Read more »
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Posted by Rebecca Remy on May 15, 2012
Japan, Nuclear energy, fukushima, Hilary Clinton, Nuclear technology, Secretary of State, Senator Wyden, Tohoku earthquake, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Lessons from Fukushima
Anniversaries have a way of generating reflection and re-assessment, and that is a good thing. But next week’s anniversary of the Fukushima catastrophe risks missing a huge piece of the story – that ALL things nuclear are inherently risky and that our assumptions about how we can control them need to be rethought. Read more »
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Posted by Paul Carroll on March 9, 2012
arms control, disarmament, Japan, fukushima, nuclear energy plants, Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, Nuclear Power, Nuclear proliferation, Nuclear technology, Nuclear Weapons
Livermore Marks Hiroshima Day by Looking Closer to Home
“In Hiroshima, there is a stone monument that says ‘Please sleep in rest. We will not repeat the same mistake.’ But we did. This time, by our own hands. Right now, in Japan, nuclear power plant radiation is affecting citizens physically and mentally as it was in Hiroshima and Nagasaki.” Read more »
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Posted on August 15, 2011
Japan, fukushima, Hiroshima, Nuclear Materials
The Lesson of Fukushima, Hiroshima and Nagasaki
Sixty-six years and hundreds of kilometers separate the disaster at Fukushima and the hibakusha, the Japanese word for survivors of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings of August 6 and 9, 1945. But the lesson is the same: Nuclear technology is inherently dangerous whether in a nuclear power plant or a nuclear bomb. Read more »
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Posted by Joe Cirincione on August 8, 2011
Japan, fukushima, Nagasaki, Nuclear Power, Nuclear Weapons, U.S. Nuclear Policy, United States
Fukushima “Aftershocks” Continue
Japan’s victory in the women’s World Cup championship owned the headlines earlier this week.  The news provided some much needed morale-building four months after the catastrophic earthquake and tsunami devastated much of the nation. Read more »
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Posted by Ploughshares Fund on July 22, 2011
Japan, fukushima, Health and Environmental Effects, Nuclear Power, TEPCO, Other
Eight Weeks Later: Where is Fukushima now?
It has been nearly two months since the massive earthquake and tsunami that devastated areas of Japan and killed thousands.  For several weeks the world was riveted by the humanitarian disaster and especially by the cliffhanger story of the damaged and dangerous nuclear power plant we now know as Fukushima Dai-Ichi.  The media frenzy has now shifted to other stories, but unfortunately that does not mean the risks are gone or that the challenges have been overcome. Read more »
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Posted by Paul Carroll on May 4, 2011
Japan, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, fukushima, Health and Environmental Effects, Natural Disaster, Union of Concerned Scientists, Nuclear Fuel Cycle, Other
Media and Expert Resources on Japanese Nuclear Crisis
A deadly earthquake and tsunami in Japan have left thousands dead and even more imperiled.  Critical situations at two nuclear power plants in Fukushima, Japan have left workers scrambling to restore stability inside the five reactor cores.  For reporters and researchers, Ploughshares Fund recommends the following nuclear experts for the best analysis on the evolving situation: Read more »
Posted by Reid Pauly on March 14, 2011
Japan, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Center for American Progress, energy, fukushima, Health and Environmental Effects, Institute of International Studies, Nuclear Power, Nuclear Materials, Other