| By Jim Newell  Japan, which has only been rocked by an 8.9-magnitude earthquake, colossal tsunami and volcano eruption over the past few days, still faces the possibility of a meltdown at one or more of its major nuclear reactors. And even if that doesn't happen, the radiation that's been leaking already presents its own long-term problems. Other countries are rethinking nuclear power safety, now. Here's a roundup of the latest news.
- The Associated Press reports that nuclear fuel rods "appear to be melting" in three reactors. This terrifying news comes from Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edan — the government's top spokesperson — who said about the melting rods, "Although we cannot directly check it, it's highly likely happening." But does "melting nuclear fuel rods" even count as a "partial meltdown"? That all depends: "Some experts would consider that a partial meltdown of the reactor. Others, though, reserve that term for times when nuclear fuel melts through a reactor's innermost chamber but not through the outer containment shell." So the two camps of experts have significantly different definitions of "meltdown." C'mon, Science.
- Some 350,000 Japanese have become homeless and are staying at shelters, according to the New York Times.
- The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission "has announced that the Japanese government has formally asked the US for assistance with cooling nuclear reactors," the Guardian writes. Why of course we'll help! Unless we don't, because the NRC says it's still "considering" providing Japan "with technical advice." Let's not be cads, NRC.
- Japan — the third largest oil-consuming country in the world — has lost a devastating chunk of its refining capacity. According to one estimate, "the capacity loss (1.7mn bbl/d) accounts for about 36% of total Japanese oil refining capacities or 6% of Asia refining capacities."
- A German commentator is comparing the would-be impact of a nuclear disaster to that of 9/11. Hey Germany: It's our job, in America, to peg every global disaster of any kind to 9/11, okay?
- Speaking of America, the nuclear industry had been "poised for a comeback" in recent years here as the 1979 Three Mile Island disaster had receded into the distant past. But then this crisis in Japan comes along and hello, the "fragile bipartisan consensus" supporting nuclear energy expansion could fall apart now, just like everything else.
Previously:
The Latest News from Japan (March 13)
Street-Level Footage of a Japanese Town Washing Away
A Shocking Ground-Level View of the Tsunami [Image via AP] | |
