Japanese Consider Entombing Four Malfunctioning Reactors

"Decommissioning" nuclear reactors means cleaning up all radioactivity and progressively dismantling the plant. But after the worst nuclear disaster in 25 years, and despite three weeks of trying to bring four damaged Fukushima reactors under control, Japan is officially under "maximum alert." The country has decided to give up on the reactors and is now considering whether to entomb them by covering them with concrete and a special fabric to curb the spread of radiation into the air. Edwin Lyman is senior staff scientist in the Global Security program at the Union of Concerned Scientists.