Japan battles crippled nuclear plant, radiation fears grow
Rising temperatures around thecore of one of the reactors at Japan's quake-crippled nuclearplant sparked new concern on Tuesday and more water was neededto cool it down, the plant's operator said.
By Risa Maeda and Kazunori Takada
TOKYO, March 22 (Reuters) - Rising temperatures around the
core of one of the reactors at Japan's quake-crippled nuclear
plant sparked new concern on Tuesday and more water was needed
to cool it down, the plant's operator said.
Despite hopes of progress in the world's worst nuclear
crisis in a quarter of a century, triggered by an earthquake and
tsunami that left at least 21,000 people dead or missing, plant
operator Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) said it needed
more time before it could say the reactors were stabilised.
Technicians working inside an evacuation zone around the
stricken plant on Japan's northeast Pacific coast, 250 km (150
miles) north of Tokyo, have attached power cables to all six
reactors and started a pump at one to cool overheating nuclear
fuel rods.
But smoke and steam were later seen rising from two of the
most threatening reactors, No.2 and No.3, threatening to dash
hopes of progress in bringing them under control.
There have been several blasts of steam from the reactors
during the crisis, which experts say probably released a small
amount of radioactive particles.
Hidehiko Nishiyama, the deputy-director general of Japan's
nuclear safety agency, later said the smoke at reactor No.3 had
stopped and there was only a small amount at No.2.
He gave no more details, but a TEPCO executive vice
president, Sakae Muto, said the core of reactor No.1 was now a
worry with its temperature at 380-390 Celsius (715-735
Fahrenheit).
"We need to strive to bring that down a bit," Muto told a
news conference, adding that the reactor was built to run at a
temperature of 302 C (575 F).
"Injecting more water is one option (to cool it)," he said.
Asked if the situation at the problem reactors was getting
worse, he said: "We need more time. It's too early to say that
they are sufficiently stable."
Reuters earlier reported that the Fukushima plant was
storing more uranium than it was originally designed to hold,
and that it had repeatedly missed mandatory safety checks over
the past decade, according to company documents and outside
experts.
Questions have also been raised about whether TEPCO
officials waited too long to pump sea water into the reactors
and abandon hope of saving the equipment in the aftermath of the
earthquake and tsunami.
But one expert said the smoke or steam seen over the
reactors did not seem to be linked to rises in radiation levels.
"Overall there is progress compared to a few days ago when
everything seemed hopeless. But we still judge the situation to
be critical," said Per Bystedt, an analyst at the Swedish
Radiation Protection Authority.
"The positive thing is that electric power is more or less
connected to all the plants."
RADIATION FEARS
Away from the plant, mounting evidence of radiation in
vegetables, water and milk stirred concerns in Japan and abroad
despite officials' assurances that the levels were not
dangerous.
TEPCO said radiation was found in the Pacific Ocean
nearby , not surprising given rain and the hosing of
reactors with sea-water. TEPCO officials have said some of the
water from the hosing was spilling into the sea.
Radioactive iodine in the sea samples was 126.7 times the
allowed limit, while caesium was 24.8 times over, the Kyodo news
agency said. That still posed no immediate danger, TEPCO said.
"It would have to be drunk for a whole year in order to
accumulate to 1 millisievert," a TEPCO official said, referring
to the standard radiation measurement unit.
People are generally exposed to 1-10 millisieverts a year
from background radiation caused by substances in the air and
soil.
The Health Ministry said residents of five municipalities in
Fukushima should not use tap water for baby powder milk after
the water was found to have more than the standard level of
radioactive iodine allowed for babies. Authorities have also
stopped shipments of milk and some vegetables from the area.
Despite the warnings, experts say readings are much lower
than around Chernobyl after the 1986 accident in Ukraine.
Japan is a net importer of food, but also exports fruit,
vegetables, dairy products and seafood, with its biggest markets
in Hong Kong, China and the United States.
Japan's neighbours including China, South Korea, Taiwan and
Thailand, are monitoring Japanese food imports. Australia's food
regulator said the risk was negligible and no extra restrictions
on Japanese food were in place.
CLOSE TO STABILISING
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission said the crisis,
Japan's darkest time since World War Two, appeared close to
stabilising.
Toshiba said it had sent 100 engineers to help and
Australia was sending a remotely operated water canon system to
help spray water on the stricken plant.
The prospects of a nuclear meltdown in the world's
third-biggest economy -- and its key position in global supply
chains, especially for the automobile and technology sectors --
rattled investors worldwide last week and prompted rare joint
currency intervention by the G7 group of rich nations.
Investors in Tokyo stocks took heart from signs of
progress at the plant, with the main index jumping more than 4
percent after a holiday on Monday.
The yen edged up, putting traders on heightened alert for
more central bank intervention.
Damage from the earthquake and tsunami is estimated at $250
billion, making it the world's costliest natural disaster.
The official death toll exceeded 9,000, but with 12,654
people reported missing, it is certain to rise. Police say more
than 15,000 people probably died in Miyagi prefecture, one of
four that took the brunt of the tsunami.
The quake and tsunami obliterated towns and left more than
350,000 people homeless.
Fuel shortages, icy rain and power outages have hampered
efforts to help survivors but relief workers reported some
progress as mangled roads reopened and new homes were built.
Still, 2.4 million people are without access to water and
221,000 households are without power, while many people are
still searching for loved ones.
"They found my brother-in-law's body yesterday but they
can't find my younger sister," said Tomiko Oikawa, 77, who was
camped out at a sports arena-turned-evacuation centre in
Minamisanriku town.
"Her house was washed away. She may be gone but I want to at
least find her body. I think, should I give up, but I keep
looking for her."
(Additional reporting by Mayumi Negishi, Paul Eckert and Raju
Gopalakrishnan in Tokyo, Jon Herskovitz and Chisa Fujioka in
Kamaishi; Writing by Rob Birsel; Editing by Ian Geoghegan)
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