Fire at nuclear plant in Japan
Straight from the Guardian:
A strong earthquake struck northwestern Japan on Monday, causing a fire and radioactive water leak at one of the world's most powerful nuclear plants and turning buildings into piles of lumber. At least seven people were killed and hundreds injured.Flames and billows of black smoke poured from the Kashiwazaki nuclear plant - the world's largest in terms of power output capacity. It took two hours to extinguish the fire, at an electrical transformer, said Motoyasu Tamaki, a Tokyo Electric Power Co. official.
Reports are saying that there was also a radioactive leak - a small one according to Tokyo Electric. Read our statement on the Kashiwazaki nuclear plant fire and leak. Last week we also ran a story about a fire at a German nuclear plant.
UPDATE: Tokyo Electric is now saying that the plant leaked 356 gallons of water containing radioactive material. That's considerably more than the 1.5 gallons they said earlier. Latest from the Guardian:
The plant leaked about 315 gallons of water, said Katsuya Uchino, another Tokyo Electric official. Uchino said the water contained a tiny amount of radioactive material - a billionth of the guideline under Japanese law - and is believed to have flushed into the Sea of Japan.
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