Japan weighs entombing nuclear plant in bid to halt radiation (Bloomberg) Tokyo Electric mixed boron, an element that absorbs neutrons and hinders nuclear fission, with emergency cooling water to prevent accidental chain reactions, Kathryn Higley, head of nuclear engineering and radiation health physics at Oregon State University in Corvallis, said in an e-mail. (See also [...]

Information, radiation leak slowly from Japan (NPR) OSU’s Kathryn Higley speaks to “Talk of the Nation” host Neal Conan. Oregon Senate passes bill to lower tuition for undocumented students (Oregonian) Without the break on tuition, Jessica Garcia said she will be limited to going to community college or possibly Eastern Oregon University, which does not [...]

Tsunami threat could catch Northwest off guard (Associated Press) Among the critics of such work is Patrick Corcoran, an Oregon State University extension worker who specializes in marine hazards and argues that the regional emphasis on geology and engineering misses the mark. (See also Long Beach Press-Telegram) No threat from Japanese radiation spread across US [...]

‘Passive safety’ reactor designs would improve response to Japan’s nuclear events (Science Blog) The type of “passively safe” nuclear reactor designs that Oregon State University researchers have been testing over the last 15 years – and which are now being built overseas – have an increased ability to respond to the type of nuclear crisis [...]

Straight Talk: Nuclear Hazards (KGW) On this week’s Straight Talk, Laural Porter talks with Portland State University geologist Scott Burns, Coastal hazard outreach specialist Patrick Corcoran, and Oregon State University nuclear engineer Professor Kathryn Higley. How we engineered the food crisis (The Guardian UK) But as Steven Strauss, professor at Oregon State University and an [...]

Is Japan reactor crew on suicide mission? (National Geographic) On Tuesday, an apparent crack in one of the nuclear plant’s four compromised reactors likely resulted in “a puff release, perhaps of radioactive steam,” said health physicist Kathryn Higley. “You saw radiation levels around the plant shoot up, although those appeared to have dropped off” soon [...]

In Japan, pregnant women have double reason to dodge radiation (TIME) When Kathryn Higley, head of the department of nuclear engineering and radiation health physics at Oregon State University, learned she was pregnant years ago, she immediately informed her supervisor, who outfitted her with a fetal dosimeter, an iPod-sized personal radiation monitoring system, to attach [...]

Japanese plant poses little threat to U.S., for now (NPR) So far, the radiation released in Japan has not reached high altitudes, said Kathryn Higley, director of the Oregon State University Department of Nuclear Engineering and Radiation Health Physics. “In addition, radioactive material is sticky. It has a static charge,” she said, so it will [...]

Health risk seen as low in Japan nuke scare (Associated Press) Even a meltdown would not necessarily mean medical doom. It depends on how well the containment vessels hold the melted fuel, and how much and what types of radioactive materials get released, radiation experts say. “Right now the data that we’re getting shows that [...]

Local tsunami expert gets first-hand account of quake (KATU) Oregon State University professor of marine geology, Chris Goldfinger, just happened to be in Tokyo for a conference about tsunamis when the first jolt hit. Science of a tsunami (KVAL) “We should be very concerned about a tsunami in the Pacific Northwest,” said Solomon Yim. “If [...]