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Showing posts from March 14, 2011

What Have We Learned From Chernobyl & Can It Help Japan?

By Theodora Filis The world watched anxiously as a nuclear emergency unraveled at the Fukushima Daiichi complex, along with the ravaged northeastern coast of Japan, as operators dumped seawater into 2 reactors in a final cooling effort to prevent a nuclear meltdown after a massive 8.9 magnitude earthquake and 23-foot tsunami devastated Japan on Friday, March 11, 2011. With the Fukushima complex making headlines, White House officials hope to assure the American public that there is nothing for them to worry about. "The U.S. power plants are designed to very high standards for earthquake effects," said Gregory Jaczko, chairman of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. "All our plants are designed to withstand significant natural phenomena, like earthquakes, tornadoes, and tsunamis." Five of the six reactors at the Japanese plant, which suffered a second explosion Monday, use the same General Electric reactor that are 23 nuclear plants in North Caroli