fukushima

Call it too little, too late.

Mitsubishi is the latest Japanese conglomerate to show off a new robot to work at the devastated Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, following Toshiba's flubbed demo of a quadruped walker.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI), Japan's largest defense contractor, yesterday unveiled the Maintenance Equipment Integrated System of Telecontrol Robot (Meister), a two-armed unit that rolls around on four tracks.

The remote-controlled bot can wield a variety of tools such as cutters and drills, clear obstacles, and pierce through concrete to check radiation levels, according to MHI.

Just like human arms, its robotic appendages can move along seven axes. Check it out cutting a pipe in the video below. … Read more

Japan is again trying to field some more robots to work at the heavily damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, but this walker from Toshiba froze during a press demo.

Tetrapod is a quadruped designed to withstand high levels of radiation, but it couldn't seem to take the glare of cameras.

The wireless remote-controlled machine recalls Boston Dynamics' BigDog robots, with legs than can tackle uneven terrain. It can carry up to 44 pounds of equipment and has an onboard camera and dosimeter.

It's designed to survey the plant's highly radioactive buildings and debris, and can apparently withstand a 100 millisievert environment for a year. … Read more

How do you contain a leaky nuclear reactor when you can't find the leak? Send in the robots.

Japan continues to struggle with the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant that was smashed in the earthquake and tsunami of 2011. It's radioactive and very dangerous. Decommissioning it will take decades.

Several robots and other tech are being thrown at the mess north of Tokyo, and Chiba Institute of Technology's Future Robotics Technology Center (fuRo) is developing another. Sakura is a small recon bot on treads that's designed to get into the bowels of the plant.… Read more

You're sweating in your bulky radiation suit, your dosimeter is freaking you out, and you're trying to close a valve that might just save a large portion of the population from some very nasty fallout.

Wouldn't it be nice to have some robotic help?

Japan's robot start-up Cyberdyne is modifying its Hybrid Assistive Limb (HAL) power suit for use by first responders in nuclear accidents.

The exoskeleton is being improved to help workers who have to wear heavy radiation protection clothing. Japan is still struggling with radiation at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, which was severely damaged last year during one of the country's most powerful earthquakes. … Read more

Japan's nuclear spring didn't last long. Though the country's nuclear power plants were taken offline following the Fukushima nuclear disaster last year, the government restarted a reactor earlier this month.

But that hasn't stopped a small village some 50 miles from the Oi plant from ditching conventional electricity from the grid and going solar.

Sanno in Hyogo Prefecture, population 42, has become the first municipality to rely on solar power.

Residents of the 11 households have an average age over 60, and the village, like many in rural Japan, is suffering depopulation. Costs for maintaining shared … Read more

Modern nuclear power designs are safer, but that isn't enough to rekindle the long-sought nuclear renaissance.

One year after the Fukushima nuclear disaster, nuclear power is either slogging ahead or at the end of the road, depending on which country you live in. How nuclear grows in the years ahead largely depends on whether new designs can demonstrate better safety and, more importantly, compete on price.

Rather than freeze nuclear's progress, Fukushima simply made it harder to make the case for building new plants, experts say. Indeed, one of the primary barriers to a nuclear renaissance is cheap … Read more

One year after the worst nuclear disaster in decades reinvigorated fears of nuclear energy in the United States, we're still waiting for the implementation of safety standards intended to address the problem.

In response to the devastating earthquake and tsunami that crippled the Fukushima Daiichi power plant in Japan one year ago, a task force created safety recommendations for existing plants to protect against natural disasters, such as earthquakes and floods, and extended loss of power. Final orders are expected soon, but the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) said this week it doesn't expect to be able implement the … Read more

A panel set up to review the events of last year's nuclear disaster in Japan has released a withering criticism of the country's nuclear industry and the government's response to the crisis.

The investigation details mistakes made in the aftermath of the massive earthquake and tsunami one year ago which killed tens of thousands of people in Japan and caused the worst nuclear accident in decades. It was prepared by the Rebuild Japan Initiative Foundation (RJIF), a think tank created last year and funded by individuals and businesses.

The latest version of the report, published today on … Read more

TOKYO--The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant has finally been stabilized after it was crippled by a tsunami in March, the Japanese government said yesterday.

Engineers working under operator Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) have brought the plant to a state of "cold shutdown," meaning the reactors can be safely kept cool and that radiation exposure is limited to 1 millisievert per year at the site's boundary.

"We are now moving from trying to stabilize the reactors to decommissioning them," Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda told reporters, emphasizing the importance of the achievement.

"This is a challenge to not only our nation, but also the whole of humanity. I believe there will come a day when Fukushima will be remembered as the place where our future was founded by the bravery, the commitment, and resourcefulness of all our people."

Explosions occurred at four of the six reactors when cooling systems failed. They released massive amounts of radiation into the environment, forcing the evacuation of an estimated 88,000 people from a zone roughly 150 miles north of Tokyo. … Read more