fukushima

March 11 2021 marks ten years since Japan was hit by an earthquake and tsunami, destroying 85,000 homes and businesses. By 2021 the country could have rebuilt but for a disaster that continues today: the meltdown of three nuclear reactors in Fukushima, on the shore of the Pacific Ocean. The reactors were Mark 1 boiling water reactors, the same type and age as Vermont Yankee. Vermonters witnessed horrific stories coming from refugees in the Fukushima evacuation zone and beyond, reactors exploding and radioactivity filling the air, land, water and groundwater. All these tragedies continue in Japan today. In 2014, Vermont Yankee shut down; today, its 900 tons of nuclear waste remains on site, beside the Connecticut River.