Former Fukushima nuclear plant boss dies of cancer

The former boss of the Fukushima nuclear plant, who stayed at his post to try to tame reactors after Japan's earthquake and tsunami in 2011, has died of throat cancer.

Masao Yoshida, 58, was at the Japanese power station on March 11, 2011, when towering waves swamped cooling systems and sparked meltdowns that released plumes of radiation.

Yoshida led the subsequent effort to get the crippled complex under control, as workers battled frequent aftershocks to try to prevent the disaster worsening.

Government contingency plans revealed after the event showed how scientists feared a chain reaction if Fukushima spiralled out of control, a scenario that could have seen other nuclear plants engulfed and would have meant evacuating Tokyo. Read more >>

The Fukushima Radioactive Plume Contaminated the Entire Northern Hemisphere

We warned mere days after the Japanese earthquake that the West Coast of North America could be hit with radiation.

The peer-reviewed scientific journal Science of the Total Environment reports:

Massive amounts of anthropogenic radionuclides were released from the nuclear reactors located in Fukushima (northeastern Japan) between 12 and 16 March 2011 following the earthquake and tsunami. Ground level air radioactivity was monitored around the globe immediately after the Fukushima accident. This global effort provided a unique opportunity to trace the surface air mass movement at different sites in the Northern Hemisphere. Read more >>