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Great East Earthquake and subsequent tsunami
Diesel generators at Fukushima Daiichi shut down at 3:27 P.M. local time after getting slammed by a series of seven tsunamis, some as high as 15 meters. -
Residential evacuation and first Hydrogen explosion
The Japanese government announces residential evacuation within 10 kilometers of the Fukushima Daiichi and Fukushima Daini nuclear power plants. With the flow of coolant interrupted, hot nuclear fuel boils the surrounding water, raising pressures in reactor units 1 and 2 at Fukushima Daiichi. A hydrogen explosion blows the roof off of the Unit 1 reactor building and collapses the walls surrounding the pool where spent nuclear fuel rods are kept cool. -
Radiation readings of 400 ms/h and first fire
A fire breaks out in the Unit 4 reactor building. Japanese authorities believe that the spent fuel storage pool is burning, releasing radiation into the atmosphere.. Radiation readings taken near the plant show emissions of up to 400 millisieverts per hour, compared with the average person's exposure rate of 2.4 millisieverts per year. Officials ask residents within 30 kilometers of the plant to stay indoors, -
Contamination found in Tokyo water
Milk and water from the Fukushima area are found to have excessively high levels of radioactive iodine. Tap water in Tokyo, 225 kilometers from Fukushima, also carries elevated levels of radiation. -
Leak and seawater contamination, no return for evacuees
A 20-centimeter crack near the water intake for Unit 2 is discovered to be leaking irradiated water (at 1,000 millisieverts per hour) into the environment; efforts to fill the crack fail. Seawater samples reveal radiation contamination at 7.5 million times the legal limit. Japan's chief cabinet secretary announces that evacuees will not be able to return home in the foreseeable future. -
Italy referendum leads to nuclear restart abandonement
More than 94% of Italian voters opposed the government's plans to resume nuclear power generation, -
German Parliament Votes to End Use of Nuclear Power
The German parliament, the Bundestag, passed a package of laws that commits the world's fourth-largest economy to shutting down all of its nuclear power plants and ending its use of nuclear energy by 2022. The vote was an overwhelming 513 to 79. Ironically, many of the "no" votes came from Left Party members, who felt the 11-year timeline was too long and argued for phasing out nuclear energy more quickly. -
Japanese poll shows 2/.3 against nuclear
A poll conducted this weekend by Kyodo news agency showed 70.3 percent support for Kan's call to wean the county off atomic energy, which accounted for nearly a third of the country's electricity output before the crisis. -
Swiss nuclear phase-out
The Swiss parliament decided to gradually shut down the country's nuclear power plants by 2034 and boost renewable energy resources. -
Stable shutdown announcement
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda announces that all of the reactors at Fukushima Daiichi are in a stable state of cold shutdown. The reactors are being maintained at around 70 degrees C and on-site radiation levels are below one millisievert per year. Experts caution that although the situation has become less dire, a long and dangerous process of cleaning up the radioactive contaminants is ongoing. -
1 year anniversary - no deaths
One year later the health effects of the radiation released during the Fukushima crisis appear to be minimal; zero deaths occurred as a direct result activities at the nuclear plant. -
Hollande wins French election
Following François Hollande's victory in the 2012 Presidential Election, is thought that there may be a partial nuclear phaseout in France. This follows a national debate in the run-up to the election, with President Nicolas Sarkozy backing nuclear power and François Hollande proposing a cut in nuclear power’s electricity contribution by more than a third by 2025. It seems certain that Hollande will at least order the closure of the Fessenheim Nuclear Power Plant, probably by 2017. -
Germany's Eon seeks €8bn over nuclear phase-out
Eon, Germany’s largest utility by sales, is to seek €8bn in damages from the German government for the accelerated phase-out of nuclear energy, should the country’s country’s constitutional court deem the policy shift an illegal act of expropriation. -
Japanese government decides to restart two nuclear reactors
Japan’s government has approved the resumption of nuclear power operations at two reactors for the first time since last year’s radiation leak at the Fukushima plant in the wake of an earthquake-triggered tsunami. The government's decision to restart the two reactors operated by Kansai Electric Power Co at Ohi in western Japan was announced by Yoshihiko Noda, the prime minister, at a meeting with key ministers on Saturday. -
Japan sells first Fukushima seafood
Seafood caught off the coast of Japan's Fukushima region has been put on sale for the first time since last year's nuclear crisis. The sale was limited to octopus and marine snails, as other species cannot be sold yet because of contamination.