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Related Topic: Fukushima Accident

Engineers publish new research on meltdown materials

Engineers publish new research on meltdown materials

Engineers at the UK's University of Sheffield have developed materials that they say could be used to help decommission the Chernobyl and Fukushima nuclear power plants. In the new research published today, they report their development of small batches of low radioactivity materials that can be used to simulate lava-like fuel containing materials. LFCMs are a mixture of highly radioactive molten nuclear fuel and building materials that fuse together during a nuclear meltdown.

Regulation & Safety 30 January 2020

Lifting of Fukushima evacuation orders re-opens rail link

Lifting of Fukushima evacuation orders re-opens rail link

Evacuation orders in the towns of Futaba, Okuma and Tomioka - imposed after the March 2011 accident at the nearby Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant - are to be partially lifted in early-March. The areas include three train stations, allowing a full service to resume on the JR Joban Line.

Regulation & Safety 20 January 2020

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Tepco likely to decommission Fukushima Daini units

Evacuation order lifted in Fukushima host town

Japan nuclear shutdown did 'more harm than good', study finds

Effectiveness of Fukushima decontamination studied

Revisions to Fukushima Daiichi decommissioning roadmap

Lifting of Fukushima evacuation orders re-opens rail link

Muon data confirms fuel melt at Fukushima Daiichi 1

The health effects of Fukushima

Engineers publish new research on meltdown materials

Revisions to Fukushima Daiichi decommissioning roadmap

Revisions to Fukushima Daiichi decommissioning roadmap

The trial removal of fuel debris from the damaged reactors at Japan's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant will begin at unit 2 in 2021, according to the latest revision to the mid and long-term roadmap towards decommissioning the plant. Meanwhile, the removal of fuel from the storage pools at units 1 and 2 has been delayed by up to five years.

Waste & Recycling 30 December 2019

Effectiveness of Fukushima decontamination studied

Effectiveness of Fukushima decontamination studied

Following the March 2011 accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, the Japanese government launched decontamination work in the surrounding area. With most of this work now completed, the European Geosciences Union has today published an assessment of the effectiveness of the strategies used, with a focus on radiocaesium.

Waste & Recycling 12 December 2019

Japan nuclear shutdown did 'more harm than good', study finds

Japan nuclear shutdown did 'more harm than good', study finds

Increased electricity prices and greater use of fossil fuels have led to more deaths following the Fukushima accident in March 2011 than the subsequent evacuation from the area surrounding the nuclear power plant, a new study shows. No deaths have been recorded as a direct result of the accident itself, but the decision to suspend nuclear power generation in response to it has contributed to loss of life, it says.

Regulation & Safety 29 October 2019

Orano and Tepco cooperate further on decommissioning

Orano and Tepco cooperate further on decommissioning

France's Orano Group recently signed a cooperation agreement with Japanese utility Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco) to strengthen their cooperation on the decommissioning of nuclear facilities at the Fukushima Daiichi site.

Waste & Recycling 04 October 2019

Fuel removal starts at Fukushima Daiichi 3

Fuel removal starts at Fukushima Daiichi 3

Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe visited the Fukushima Daiichi site today as the process to remove used fuel from unit 3 officially began. It has taken several years for Tepco to remove debris from the reactor building service floor and prepare for this work to reduce the hazard at the accident site.

Waste & Recycling 15 April 2019

Evacuation order lifted in Fukushima host town

Evacuation order lifted in Fukushima host town

Some residents of Okuma, the closest town to the Fukushima Daiichi plant, have today been allowed to return home. The evacuation order issued in 2011 has been lifted for the more mountainous and less inhabited western area, where around 380 of the town's former population of 10,500 lived.

Regulation & Safety 10 April 2019

Tepco completes Fukushima water storage upgrade

Tepco completes Fukushima water storage upgrade

Bolted flange tanks at Fukushima Daiichi, which had previously leaked, are no longer in use. Tokyo Electric Power Company has completed the transfer of the treated water to new welded tanks onsite while it awaits permission to discharge.

Regulation & Safety 28 March 2019

Researchers study Fukushima particle in close-up

Researchers study Fukushima particle in close-up

A joint team of UK and Japanese researchers have used the UK's synchrotron science facility to analyse the internal structure and composition of a radioactive particle collected from close to the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Japan.

Regulation & Safety 11 March 2019