M5.9 quake hits northeastern Japan

Following the earthquake, Tohoku Electric Power Co. said no abnormalities were found at its two nuclear power plants in Aomori and Miyagi prefectures.

Did they measure radiation in the air around the

ruined reactors in Fukushima?

I was awake at the time with my youngest when the alert pinged through on my cell phone. Too far south though to have felt anything.

Thankfully those up in Tohoku, aside from being awoken, haven't suffered any serious injuries or damage this time around.

The Rokkasho Nuclear Fuel Reprocessing Facility is basically on top of that quake, it is a nuclear reprocessing plant with an annual capacity of 800 tons of uranium or 8 tons of plutonium. Just takes one quake and it's over.

Woke me up and couldn't get back to sleep.

Woke the entire family. Apart from the cat who only woke up when I turned the light on (and got angry at me for turning it on)

The Rokkasho is nearly full, with over 2,900 tons of high-level waste already waiting to be reprocessed. Imagine those cooling pools cracking, losing their water.