Breakthrough in efforts to prevent major radiation leak in Japan

FE Team | Published: March 20, 2011 00:00:00 | Updated: February 01, 2018 00:00:00

OSAKA, March 19, 2011 (AFP): Engineers at a stricken nuclear plant in Japan managed to connect an electricity cable to one of the reactors Saturday and battled to restore power to the cooling system to avert a full-blown meltdown. The announcement offered some hope of a breakthrough in efforts to prevent a major radiation leak from the troubled facility, although it is not yet clear whether the cooling system will work properly even if the power comes back on. The government meanwhile said it had discovered abnormal levels of radiation that exceeded the legal limit in milk and spinach from areas near the stricken plant, but they posed no immediate threat to humans. Electricity was expected to be restored to reactor No. 2 at the Fukushima plant on Sunday, more than a week after it was rocked by a massive earthquake and tsunami, the nuclear safety agency said. Reactor No. 1 usually shares the same electricity line so the cable could in theory restore power to both units. After that, engineers will start laying cables to the other four reactors -- a complicated operation that is taking longer than initially expected. Once power is back up, the radiation-suited Fukushima engineers hope they can get vital cooling systems online. In the meantime, they have been dumping water by hose and by air on the reactors to cool the fuel rods. There are six reactors at the plant, which is located about 250 kilometres (155 miles) northeast of Tokyo and has already leaked radiation, prompting the government to order an evacuation within a 20 kilometre (12 mile) radius. Emergency services resumed spraying water at the number three reactor using specially equipped fire trucks and said they were stepping up the dousing, aiming for round-the-clock operations. Defence Minister Toshimi Kitazawa said surface temperatures at the plant "seem to be stable" at no more than 100 degrees Celsius (212 degrees F). Tonnes of water have been used to douse overheating fuel rods in what the head of the UN International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has described as "a race against time" to prevent a major disaster. Agencies further add: International nuclear experts at the IAEA say that, although radioactive iodine has a short half-life of about eight days, there is a short-term risk to human health if it is ingested, and it can cause damage to the thyroid. Traces of radioactive iodine have also been found in tapwater in Tokyo and five other prefectures, officials said on Saturday.