Support our non-partisan non-profit newsroom 💜 Donate now
News In Brief

Japan’s nuclear power plants in trouble

Matt Berger Mar 12, 2011

An aerial view shows the quake-damaged Fukushima nuclear power plant in the Japanese town of Futaba, Fukushima prefecture on March 12, 2011. Japan scrambled to prevent nuclear accidents at two atomic plants where reactor cooling systems failed after its massive earthquake. Tens of thousands of residents have been evacuated.

According to The New York Times:

Japanese television showed a cloud of white-gray smoke from the explosion billowing up from a stricken reactor at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station Saturday afternoon, and officials said leaks of radiation from the plant prompted them to expand the evacuation area around the facility to a 12-mile radius.

Tokyo Electric Power, which runs the plants, said it had released some radioactive vapor into the atmosphere at one plant to relieve building reactor pressure, but said the move posed no health risks.

PHOTO: STR/AFP/Getty Images

There’s a lot happening in the world.  Through it all, Marketplace is here for you. 

You rely on Marketplace to break down the world’s events and tell you how it affects you in a fact-based, approachable way. We rely on your financial support to keep making that possible. 

Your donation today powers the independent journalism that you rely on. For just $5/month, you can help sustain Marketplace so we can keep reporting on the things that matter to you.