Nuclear Meltdown

• Japan: Most plant workers evacuated, radiation levels rise

  Japan's nuclear crisis verged toward catastrophe on Tuesday after an explosion damaged the vessel containing the nuclear core at one reactor and a fire at another spewed large amounts of radioactive material into the air, according to statements from Japanese government and industry officials.In a brief morning address to the nation Tokyo time, Pri...

• Emergency cooling effort failing at Japanese reactor, deepening crisis

  Japan's struggle to contain the crisis at a stricken nuclear power plant worsened sharply early Tuesday morning, as emergency operations to pump seawater into one crippled reactor failed at least temporarily, increasing the risk of an uncontrolled release of radioactive material, officials said. With the cooling systems malfunctioning simultaneousl...

• Meltdown threat rises at Japanese nuclear plant

  Water levels dropped precipitously Monday inside a stricken Japanese nuclear reactor, twice leaving the uranium fuel rods completely exposed and raising the threat of a meltdown, hours after a hydrogen explosion tore through the building housing a different reactor.Water levels were restored after the first decrease but the rods remained exposed la...

• Japan: Scramble at reactor after new blast

  The risk of partial meltdown at a stricken nuclear power plant in Japan increased on Monday as cooling systems failed at a third reactor, possibly exposing its fuel rods, only hours after a second explosion at a separate reactor blew the roof off a containment building. (Read: Second explosion at Fukushima nuclear plant)The widening problems unders...