Latest Nuclear power plant accidents News

Japan's nuclear watchdog disqualifies a reactor for the first time since Fukushima disaster

Nov. 13, 2024 06:40 AM EST

TOKYO (AP) — Japan's nuclear watchdog on Wednesday formally disqualified a reactor in the country's north-central region from restarting, the first rejection under safety standards that were reinforced after the 2011 Fukushima disaster. The decision is a setback for Japan as it seeks to...

A robot retrieves the first melted fuel from Fukushima nuclear reactor

Nov. 04, 2024 14:39 PM EST

TOKYO (AP) — A remote-controlled robot has safely returned with a tiny piece of melted fuel it collected from inside one of three damaged reactors at the tsunami-hit Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant for the first time since the 2011 meltdown. The Tokyo Electric Power Company...

Japanese nuclear reactor that restarted 13 years after Fukushima disaster is shut down again

Nov. 03, 2024 23:40 PM EST

TOKYO (AP) — A Japanese nuclear reactor that restarted last week for the first time in more than 13 years after it had survived a massive 2011 earthquake and tsunami that badly damaged the nearby Fukushima nuclear plant was shut down again Monday due to an equipment problem, its operator said. ...

TEPCO ex-chair at time of Fukushima nuclear disaster dies at 84 while on trial over responsibility

Oct. 31, 2024 02:13 AM EDT

TOKYO (AP) — Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings' former chairperson, who led the emergency response after a meltdown at its Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant and was accused of being responsible for failing to prevent the disaster as top management, has died, with his trials still pending. He...

Japanese nuclear reactor which survived earthquake that badly damaged Fukushima power plant restarts

Oct. 29, 2024 09:30 AM EDT

TOKYO (AP) — A Japanese nuclear reactor which survived a massive 2011 earthquake and tsunami that badly damaged the nearby Fukushima nuclear power plant was restarted Tuesday for the first time since the disaster after a safety upgrade, as the government pursues a renewed expansion of nuclear...

Japan's new leader expresses regret for governing party slush fund scandal, vows stronger defense

Oct. 04, 2024 02:16 AM EDT

TOKYO (AP) — New Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba opened his first policy speech in office Friday by expressing deep regrets over the governing party's slush funds scandal that dogged his predecessor. Ishiba replaced Fumio Kishida on Tuesday with the paramount mission of...

A charred transformer on a Kyiv square makes for an unusual Ukraine war exhibit

Sep. 20, 2024 07:58 AM EDT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — A charred transformer from one of Ukraine’s badly damaged power plants has come to a square in Kyiv's city center — a stark reminder of the scale of destruction caused by Russian strikes on the country's energy system. The massive blackened hulk juxtaposed...

A robot begins removal of melted fuel from the Fukushima nuclear plant. It could take a century

Sep. 10, 2024 00:19 AM EDT

TOKYO (AP) — A long robot entered a damaged reactor at Japan's Fukushima nuclear power plant on Tuesday, beginning a two-week, high-stakes mission to retrieve for the first time a tiny amount of melted fuel debris from the bottom. The robot's trip into the Unit 2 reactor is a...

Mushrooms foraged in Sweden could help research Chernobyl fallout

Sep. 06, 2024 11:59 AM EDT

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Sweden's strong foraging culture could help determine how much radioactive fallout remains in the Scandinavian country 38 years after the Chernobyl nuclear explosion. The Swedish Radiation Safety Authority has asked mushroom-pickers to send samples of...