Smoke stalls efforts at nuclear plant
Source: Agencies |
March 22, 2011, Tuesday
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GRAY smoke rose from two reactor units yesterday, temporarily stalling critical work to reconnect power lines and restore cooling systems to stabilize Japan's radiation-leaking nuclear complex.
Workers are racing to bring the nuclear plant under control, but the process is proceeding in fits and starts, stalled by incidents like the smoke and by the need to work methodically to make sure wiring, pumps and other machinery can be safely switched on.
What caused the smoke to billow first from Unit 3 at the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant and later from Unit 2 is under investigation, nuclear safety agency officials said.
Still, in the days since the March 11 earthquake and tsunami wrecked the plant's cooling systems, both reactors have overheated and seen explosions. Workers yesterday were evacuated from the area to buildings nearby, though radiation levels remained steady, the officials said.
Problems set off by the disasters have ranged far beyond the devastated northeast coast and the wrecked nuclear plant. Rebuilding the ruined northeast coast may cost as much as US$235 billion, the World Bank said.
The troubles at Fukushima have in some ways overshadowed the natural catastrophe, threatening a wider disaster if the plant spews more concentrated forms of radiation than it has so far.
The nuclear safety agency and plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co reported significant progress over the weekend and yesterday. Electrical teams, having finished connecting three of the plant's six units, are working to connect the rest by today.
Once done, however, pumps and other equipment have to be checked - and the reactors cleared of dangerous gas - before power can be restored.
For instance, a motorized pump to inject water into Unit 2's overheated reactor and spent fuel storage pool needs to be replaced, said Hidehiko Nishiyama, an official at the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency.
Radioactive iodine, which breaks down after a week, has been the most widespread contaminant found, but so have traces of cesium, which lasts decades and may cause cancer.
That cesium was likely generated when nuclear fuel rods partially melted last week, Nishiyama said, and is an indication of potential harm to the environment and how badly damaged some of the reactors are.
Early yesterday, the health ministry advised Iitate, a village of 6,000 people about 30 kilometers northwest of the plant, not to drink tap water due to elevated levels of iodine. Iodine three times the normal level was detected.
The World Bank said yesterday Japan may need five years to rebuild from the disasters, which caused up to US$235 billion in damage, adding the cost to private insurers could be up to US$33 billion.
Workers are racing to bring the nuclear plant under control, but the process is proceeding in fits and starts, stalled by incidents like the smoke and by the need to work methodically to make sure wiring, pumps and other machinery can be safely switched on.
What caused the smoke to billow first from Unit 3 at the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant and later from Unit 2 is under investigation, nuclear safety agency officials said.
Still, in the days since the March 11 earthquake and tsunami wrecked the plant's cooling systems, both reactors have overheated and seen explosions. Workers yesterday were evacuated from the area to buildings nearby, though radiation levels remained steady, the officials said.
Problems set off by the disasters have ranged far beyond the devastated northeast coast and the wrecked nuclear plant. Rebuilding the ruined northeast coast may cost as much as US$235 billion, the World Bank said.
The troubles at Fukushima have in some ways overshadowed the natural catastrophe, threatening a wider disaster if the plant spews more concentrated forms of radiation than it has so far.
The nuclear safety agency and plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co reported significant progress over the weekend and yesterday. Electrical teams, having finished connecting three of the plant's six units, are working to connect the rest by today.
Once done, however, pumps and other equipment have to be checked - and the reactors cleared of dangerous gas - before power can be restored.
For instance, a motorized pump to inject water into Unit 2's overheated reactor and spent fuel storage pool needs to be replaced, said Hidehiko Nishiyama, an official at the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency.
Radioactive iodine, which breaks down after a week, has been the most widespread contaminant found, but so have traces of cesium, which lasts decades and may cause cancer.
That cesium was likely generated when nuclear fuel rods partially melted last week, Nishiyama said, and is an indication of potential harm to the environment and how badly damaged some of the reactors are.
Early yesterday, the health ministry advised Iitate, a village of 6,000 people about 30 kilometers northwest of the plant, not to drink tap water due to elevated levels of iodine. Iodine three times the normal level was detected.
The World Bank said yesterday Japan may need five years to rebuild from the disasters, which caused up to US$235 billion in damage, adding the cost to private insurers could be up to US$33 billion.
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