On March 11, 2011, a nuclear disaster struck Japan. Translated testimony by the power plant's manager reveals how close the world came to a greater catastrophe -- and how much there is to be learned.
Koeberg Nuclear Power Plant.
Paul Scott/Wikimedia Commons
For South Africa decommissioning its nuclear plant Koeberg is a reality that cannot be ignored much longer.
Assumptions, authoritarianism and errors are just a few of the ways in which the world could be confronted by a nuclear disaster, physicist and disarmament expert MV Ramana suggests in his book reviews.
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The next generation of reactors provide in-built safety systems and a way to reuse old fuel.
Buddhist monks and family members of victims of the Fukushima tsunami and earthquake face the sea to pray on March 11, 2016 while mourning the victims of the March 11, 2011 disaster.
REUTERS/Kyodo
March 11 marks the anniversary of the Fukushima earthquake. Natural disasters here in the US also have wreaked havoc. There may be a way to improve response to these natural disasters.
Anti-nuclear demonstration in front of the Japanese Diet, June 22, 2012.
Matthias Lambrecht/Flickr
Nuclear power was a cornerstone of Japan's energy strategy for decades, until the Fukushima disaster. The current government wants to keep some nuclear reactors open, but has lost public support.
A fishing boat washed inland by the 2011 Tsunami next to a shrine inside the Fukushima nuclear exclusion zone.
Thom Davies
Those communities affected by the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident are having their resilience tested once again.
The Fukushima Daini plant, 11km from the ill-fated Daiichi station, suffered a technical problem in one of its spent fuel cooling ponds.
EPA/Kimimasa Mayama
The latest earthquake off Japan's east coast was an ominous reminder of the 2011 Fukushima disaster. But despite a technical hitch at one of Fukushima's other reactors, there was no repeat this time.
A man evacuated from his home watches TV news on the tsunami warnings following the earthquake.
Kyodo Kyodo/Reuters
Japan's response to a tsunami threat following major earthquake shows it has learned much from past events, including the deadly quake and tsunami that disabled the Fukushima nuclear power plant.
The appointment of three women to politically powerful roles is symbolically significant for Japanese women.
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Chernobyl is already responsible for up to 5,000 cases of cancer in Europe.
After one reactor at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant caught fire and exploded in 1986, the whole site was encased in a concrete sarcophagus.
Vladimir Repik/Reuters
The meltdown at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in 1986 exposed 572 million people to radiation. No other nuclear accident holds a candle to that level of public health impact.
Remediation will never get radiation to zero in the area affected by the 2011 meltdown at the Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear power plant. Rather than safety, the conversation should focus on acceptable risk.
Thousands of bags of radioactive rubble near Fukushima, 2016.
EPA
Any nuclear weapon exchange or major nuclear plant meltdown will immediately lead to a global public health emergency. What can we learn from past events to help prepare?
The Fukushima disaster was a dark chapter for nuclear power - but high-profile accidents are far from the only downside.
EPA/KIMIMASA MAYAMA/AAP
Is nuclear power worth it? No, says Mark Diesendorf – it's never been a major world energy force, it has caused huge accidents, and its greenhouse emissions are higher than many people realise.
Associate Professor, International Education and Learning Unit, Nossal Institute for Global Health, School of Population and Global Health, University of Melbourne