Posted on 05/31/2011 2:54:02 PM PDT by TigerLikesRooster
Japanese nuclear plant hit by explosion and oil spill
Limited damage but no further radiation leaks at Fukushima Daiichi facility crippled by earthquake and tsunami
An oil spill and a small explosion have caused limited damage, but no further radiation leaks, at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station in north-east Japan, the plant operator has said.
Workers at the crippled plant found an oil spill on Tuesday in the sea near reactors 5 and 6, which were shutdown when the earthquake and tsunami struck on 11 March, the Tokyo Electric Power Company said. The spill was contained by an oil fence, a Tepco spokesman, Taichi Okazaki, said.
An explosion workers heard at reactor 4 on Tuesday was likely to have come from a gas tank and did not cause any additional radiation leaks, Okazaki added. The cause was being investigated.
The main problems at Fukushima Daiichi involve reactors 1,2 and 3, where the fuel cores have largely melted. Scientists and government officials say the reactors are short of a full meltdown, in which the fuel breaks through the bottom of the outer container.
(Excerpt) Read more at guardian.co.uk ...
P!
Scientists and government officials say the reactors are short of a full meltdown,
I am so relieved to hear it. /S
Mt heart goes out to those poor Japanese citizens who live in that area. It just keeps getting worse and worse for them.
They just can’t catch a break.
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