9/17/2011 Palisades Nuclear Plant In Michigan Shutdown After Repeated Cooling Failure

Source: The Examiner
Date: 9/17/2011
by: Alexader Higgins

The Palisades Nuclear Plant in Covert Michigan has been shutdown after critical parts of the cooling system needed to cool the reactor failed for at least the third time within the last 2 years.

A notification of a nuclear event has been issued for the Palisades Nuclear Plant in Covert, Michigan.
...
Read full article here

Editor's Note: Map showing facility below

View Live Ustream Radiation Detectors in a larger map

8/21/2011 (Video) Nuclear Family

Source: Dateline SBS
Date: 8/21/2011
by: Toshi Maeda


While much of the media’s attention has turned away from events in Japan, millions of people are still feeling the after-effects of March’s devastating earthquake and tsunami.
Japanese video journalist Toshi Maeda gives Dateline an insider’s view of the daily challenges still facing residents, including his own wife and young daughter.

Near the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant, he finds ghost towns, where those remaining struggle with little work, money or food. Close-knit families have been left divided by the disaster as members move elsewhere to try and make a living.

One family that Toshi meets, the Sakuuchis, also don't know how the radiation, at 14 times the normal level, will ultimately affect them and the youngest member of their family, four-year-old Honoka.

Contamination concerns too are affecting agricultural businesses hundreds of kilometres away, and even daily food shopping in Tokyo has become an ordeal… all with a backdrop of discontent over a lack of government transparency and action.
...
For full article and other extras visit the Dateline SBS website here

Editor's Note: Below is a map of the Hamaoka Nuclear Power Plant sited in the video as having been shut down and the target of nuclear protesters.
View Live Ustream Radiation Detectors in a larger map

9/10/2011 (Video) Reconstruction Challenges Six Months after the Great East Japan Earthquake

Source: NHK World: Japan 7 Days
Date: 9/10/2011
by: Minori Takao


Six months have passed since the earthquake and tsunami wreaked havoc on northeastern Japan. This week's Japan 7 Days examines the current situation, the progress to date, and the challenges for reconstruction.

Physical Infrastructure
Minamisanriku, in Miyagi Prefecture, is one of the hardest-hit communities. Newscaster Minori Takao went back to the town for the first time since May to assess the progress in reconstruction of infrastructure and removal of rubble. She also reports on how a temporary shopping street is restoring some sense of normalcy to residents' daily lives.

Social Infrastructure
All of Minamisanriku's evacuation centers were closed by the end of August, once people were relocated to temporary housing. While they have a roof over their head, they lack the community ties that had been established in their old neighborhoods. The town has started sending personnel around to make sure residents don't fall into isolation. Temporary home dwellers have also taken steps of their own, including setting up a "salon" to foster communication.

Business and Industry
Fishing used to be a lucrative occupation in the Omoe district of the city of Miyako. Some fishermen earned more than $130,000 dollars annually. The tsunami, however, washed away most of the area's 800 fishing vessels. A lack of financial aid from the government made things worse. The local fishermen's association started collaborative projects to help, but income has fallen dramatically. The fishermen, however, are not giving up.

Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant
Updates on Reactors 1-4 and impediments to resolving the crisis.

Persons Displaced by the Fukushima Meltdown
All 11,000 residents of the town where four of the six Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant reactors are located don't know whether they will be able to return. Some are coming to terms with the necessity of restarting their lives in different places.