"More than a quarter of U.S. nuclear plant operators have failed to properly tell regulators about equipment defects that could imperil reactor safety, according to a report by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's inspector general."
In 1961, three young nuclear plant operators in Idaho were killed when a small experimental power reactor melted down. They were so radioactive they had to be buried in lead-lined coffins under concrete. And one bereaved family was only allowed a five-minute funeral.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission currently requires nuclear plants to plan evacuation of a 10-mile circle in case of a radiation threat. But the government urged evacuation of a 50-mile circle after the disaster at Japan's Fukushima plant. Here's some information to help you calculate your own risk.
"A sleepy New Jersey town has popped onto people's radar screens because it has the oldest running nuclear power plant in the United States -- and, some say, the most dangerous."
"Japan’s effort to contain the crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant suffered a setback, an official said on Friday, citing evidence that the reactor vessel of the No. 3 unit may have been damaged."
"A Japanese government agency that spent several years evaluating the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant declared the facility safe after dismissing concerns from a member of its own expert panel that a tsunami could jeopardize its reactors."
"The Japanese authorities are considering a plan to import bottled water from overseas, a government official said Thursday morning, a day after spreading contamination from a crippled nuclear plant led to a panicked rush to buy water in Tokyo."
The forensic analysis of the Deepwater Horizon's blowout preventer revealed that a buckled drill pipe fouled the unit's blind shear ram, preventing it from sealing off the well.
"The threat of the release of highly radioactive spent fuel at a Japanese nuclear plant has revived a debate in the United States about how to manage such waste and has led to new recriminations over a derailed plan for a national repository in Nevada."
As a quake-stricken Japanese nuclear plant continues to spew radiation into the environment, journalists and people across the world are getting an unwelcome lesson in how secrecy can threaten people's health and safety. A New York Times team finally on March 16 did the story on the withholding of information. Read their coverage, as well as others.
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