【973-975】福岛核电站开始从熔化的反应堆中取出燃料&波音737 MAX停飞，旅行者太多，飞机太少&巴黎圣母院燃烧
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AS IT IS
Fukushima Plant Begins Removing Fuel from Melted Reactor
April 15, 2019
This image released by Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) shows the operation floor above a cooling pool at Unit 3 of the Fukushima nuclear power plant in Okuma town, Fukushima prefecture, northeastern Japan, Monday, April 15, 2019. (Tokyo Electric Power Co
The operator of Japan’s Fukushima nuclear center has begun removing fuel from a reactor that melted down in a 2011 accident.
The Tokyo Electric Company, also known as TEPCO, said Monday it had successfully removed the first of more than 560 mostly used fuel units inside a pool in the reactor’s Unit 3.
The operation marked the first time TEPCO has removed fuel from the highly polluted building containing the Unit 3 reactor. Workers are controlling removal equipment from a room away from the building because of high levels of radiation.
Unit 3 was one of three reactors at the Fukushima plant to suffer meltdowns after a 2011 earthquake and tsunami shut down the plant’s cooling systems. It was the world’s worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl in 1986. The accident forced 160,000 people to flee poisoned areas near the plant and many never returned.
The fuel units were not broken in the accident. But the pools that hold them sit about 18 meters above ground and are not fully contained. The units are being moved to safer ground to avoid a possible new disaster in case another major earthquake hits.
Fukushima's reactors four through six were not operating at the time so they did not melt down. However, Unit 4 was damaged by an explosion in the days after the tsunami. TEPCO finished removing all the nuclear fuel kept inside Unit 4’s storage pool in December 2014.
Officials have said the current operations at Unit 3 are expected to be completed by March 2021. After that, TEPCO plans to continue with the removal of about 1000 nuclear fuel units from the storage pools of reactors one and two.
After those removals are completed, TEPCO will begin a much bigger effort – clearing melted fuel from inside the reactors. Many of the details of those operations remain largely unknown.
In 2016, the Japanese government estimated that total costs from the Fukushima disaster would reach $192 billion. The amount includes efforts to completely take apart the plant, clean affected areas and pay money to disaster victims.
I’m Bryan Lynn.
Bryan Lynn wrote this story for VOA Learning English, based on reports from the Associated Press, Reuters, Agence France-Press and VOA News. Caty Weaver was the editor.
We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page.
_____________________________________________________________
Words in This Story
unit – n. a single, complete thing that may be part of a larger thing
pool – n. a small area of water or container for water
contaminate – v. make something dirty or poisonous
AS IT IS
With Boeing 737 Max Grounded, Too Many Travelers, Too Few Planes
April 15, 2019
Ahead of the summer travel season, airlines in the United States usually compete to sell tickets and fill seats.
But the airlines that operate the grounded Boeing 737 Max planes have a new problem: there are not enough seats to meet the demand.
“The revenue is right in front of them. They can see it, but they can’t meet it,” said Mike Trevino. He is an airline industry expert and spokesman for Southwest Airlines Pilots Association.
The grounding of Boeing’s 737 Max came after two deadly crashes in five months.
Southwest Airlines is the world’s largest 737 Max operator. The company has 34 of the planes. American Airlines operates the second-most, with 24. These planes have been removed from use until at least August.
The grounding of the planes has led Southwest to cancel 160 of its 4,200 daily flights between June 8 and August 5. American Airlines will cancel 115 daily flights, or 1.5 percent of its total summer flights.
Southwest only flies Boeing 737s. It had estimated $150 million in lost revenue between February 20 and March 31 -- mostly because of MAX cancellations.
So far, airlines have said it is too early to estimate the cost of the Max grounding beyond the first three months. However, continuous cancellations show that most airlines do not expect a fast return of the MAX model.
The 737 Max was grounded worldwide in March following a deadly Ethiopian Airlines crash. It came five months after a Lion Air crash in Indonesia. All on board both planes died.
Boeing is under pressure to provide additional software. Experts are examining the original software as a possible reason for the crashes. Boeing must prove to worldwide regulators that the plane is safe to fly. That process may take more than 90 days.
Planes in the United States are usually mostly full during the months of June, July and August. The U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics says this is when airlines earn the most money for each seat. Lowering the number of seats could mean more costly summer prices.
United Airlines operates only 14 Max planes and has mostly avoided cancellations. Instead, it has been more of its larger Boeing 777 or 787 airplanes. However, the airline’s president warned last week that the move has been very costly and that it could not continue doing so forever.
Although the MAX 737 makes up just 5 percent of Southwest planes and even less for other airlines, the problem may only get worse. That is because Southwest, American and United all were expecting deliveries of new Max planes soon. Southwest was expecting 41 in 2019, while American was expecting 16 and United was expecting 14.
I’m Ashley Thompson.
The Reuters News Agency reported this story. Susan Shand adapted it for Learning English. Ashley Thompson was the editor.
Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page.
_______________________________________________________________
Words in This Story
ticket – n.a piece of paper that allows you to see a show, participate in an event, travel on a vehicle
revenue – n.money that is made by or paid to a business or an organization
software – n. the programs that run on a computer and perform certain functions
original - adj. the first, or one of a kind
AS IT IS
Paris' Notre-Dame Cathedral Burning
April 15, 2019
Flames and smoke rise from Notre Dame cathedral as it burns in Paris, Monday, April 15, 2019. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
A major fire on Monday began to burn at France’s world-famous Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral.
Flames could be seen rising through the top of the monument. Its tall, narrow spirelater collapsed.
The cathedral dates back to the 12th century. French writer Victor Hugo used it as the setting of his famous story, The Hunchback of Notre-Dame, first published in 1831.
The cathedral is one of the world’s most famous tourist sites. About 12 million people visit Notre-Dame each year. It sits in the center of Paris, along the Seine River.
The mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo wrote on Twitter Monday, “A terrible fire is underway at Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris.” Hidalgo added that Paris firefighters were still trying to contain the fire. She urged people to stay away from the area.
As the cathedral's roof continued to burn, a police officer near the scene told Reuters news agency, “Everything is collapsing.”
French President Emmanuel Macron delayed a planned scheduled speech to the nation because of the fire. The speech was to present his answers to the yellow vest crisis that has taken over the country since November.
Macron arrived at the scene of the fire Monday night.
The cause of the fire was not immediately known. France 2 television reported that police were treating it as accidental.
Workers had been renovating parts of Notre-Dame. Parts of the monument were surrounded by a metal and wood support structure. The cathedral's bronze statues had been removed last week for repairs.
Notre-Dame’s first stone was laid in 1163 by Pope Alexander III. Its main spire was added during repairs in the 19th century.
I'm Caty Weaver.
Hai Do adapted this story for Learning English based on Reuters and Associated Press news reports. Ashley Thompson was the editor.
Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page.
_______________________________________________________________
Words in This Story
cathedral - n. a main church of an area
flame - n. hot, glowing gas that can be seen when a fire is burning
spire - n. a tall, narrow, pointed structure, usually on top of a church
tourist - n. a person who travels to a place for pleasure
renovate - v. to make changes and repairs
statue - n. a figure usually of a person or animal that is made from stone, metal, etc.
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