For those who thought that, with the new year, nuclear power had turned a page and put its “annus horribilis” behind it–as if the calendar were somehow the friend America’s aging reactors–let’s take a quick look at January 2012.

I guess some people tied to the anthrax case believe if you keep repeating the story, “Bruce Ivins stalked women, so he must have tried to kill Patrick Leahy” enough times, people will continue to believe it.

The Union of Concerned Scientists held a press briefing with David Lochbaum and Edwin Lyman to help reporters understand the details of the NRC report on reactor conditions at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Station. The details explain how dire the conditions are at Units 1-4.

The latest news in the efforts to stop a catastrophic event at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant in Japan is that highly contaminated water has pushed through a crack in the No. 2 reactor, and is leaking into the ocean. Officials at the plant tried to use an absorbent powder, sawdust and even shredded newspaper to block the leak, but so far, nothing has worked.

Sandbags. That’s right, we’re literally down to sandbags to keep a trench filled with highly radiative water from spilling its content into the sea.