 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Japanese Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa said Saturday that condition at four reactors at the troubled Fukushima Daiichi (No. 1) nuclear power plant were improving. Following Japan's Self-Defense Force and firefighting personnel shooting water over the No. 3 reactor at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant on Saturday afternoon, in an effort to cool down the reactor and overheating spent fuel pools, Kitazawa said the operation had been successful. Addressing a press conference, the defense minister said that the situation at the No 1. to No. 4 reactors was "more stable than expected" as the temperature of the four reactors at the plant remained below 100 degrees Celsius. A rise in water temperature, usually to 40 degrees Celsius, causes the water level in the fuel pools to fall, exposing the spent nuclear fuel rods, which could then heat up further, melt and discharge highly radioactive materials in the worst-case scenario, experts say. Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan instructed his defense minister to continue to monitor the situation closely. In a separate news conference Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said that whilst stations at the Daiichi plant remain unpredictable, he believes water-spraying over the spent fuel rod pool in the No. 3 reactor was successful and that the current situation is "more stable than before." "We are trying to get things under control, but we are still in an unpredictable situation,'' Edano said, adding that the SDF is now preparing to spray water into the No. 4 reactor to cool its spent fuel pool. The top government spokesperson said that whilst he cannot give a precise time as to when the power will be fully restored at the plant so the cooling systems can work autonomously, the "overall situation is improving step by step." Japan's Meteorological Agency announced that a strong earthquake with a magnitude of 6.1 rocked Ibaraki Prefecture and the surrounding area in the Kanto and Tohoku region at 18:56 local time on Saturday evening, but no damage to nuclear facilities in Ibaraki, or Tohoku Prefecture were recorded and no tsunami warning issued following the quake. Prior to the afternoon phase of the water-cooling operation, a spokesperson for Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO), operator of the faltering Daiichi facility, said a total of 1,260 tons of water will be discharged over the stricken-reactor over a seven hour period. An unmanned vehicle with a 22-meter high platform was utilized in the efforts, to avoid personnel coming into contact with excessive amounts of radiation. The Tokyo Fire Department's special "hyper rescue team" also joined the SDF in spraying water to cool down the No. 3 reactor and the combined effort discharged 60 tons of water in 20 minutes, in the first phase of the operation on Saturday morning. |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
