An earthquake and ensuing tsunami in Japan early in the year rocked the nuclear community after the Fukushima Daiichi plant, operated by Tepco, suffered substantial damage to various reactors and some partial meltdowns, with radiationleakage.
Some 40 minutes later, a Japanese government official stressed at a news conference that the explosion had not resulted in leakage of radiation, even while ordering residents within 20 kilometers of the plant to evacuate.