Japanese engineers admitted Friday that the burial of the nuclear paralyzed in the sand and cement can be a last resort to prevent a catastrophic release of radiation, the method used to seal a huge loss at Chernobyl in 1986.
But still the hope of resolving the crisis by establishing a power cord at least two reactors to restart the pumps required to cool the overheated nuclear fuel rods. Workers also sprayed water on the No. 3 reactor, the worst of the six plants.
It was the first operator of the facility had admitted burying the huge complex was possible, a signal that gradually dumping measures water from helicopters or military intervention to restart cooling pumps do not work.
"It is impossible to close the reactor in concrete. However, our priority now is to try to be cool," an official of the plant operator, Tokyo Electric Power Co, in a press conference.
As Japan entered its second week after an earthquake of magnitude 9.0 and 10 meters (33 feet) from the tsunami flattened towns along the coast and thousands of deaths, the worst in the world since the Chernobyl nuclear crisis seemed far from complete .
Millions of people in Tokyo, continued to work at home, some fear an accident of radioactive complex, 240 km (150 miles) north if the wind would probably be contaminated smoke or steam away from the densely populated city that lies on the Pacific.
radiation levels in areas near the plant does not pose an immediate danger to human health, "said Michael O'Leary, WHO representative in China.
"At this stage there is still no evidence that there was a significant spread of radiation beyond the immediate area of the reactors themselves," O'Leary said in Beijing.
Japan's nuclear disaster has triggered global alarm and comments from the safety of nuclear plants worldwide.
President Barack Obama, who said the U.S. no harmful radiation expected to reach its shores, said he had ordered a comprehensive review of domestic nuclear power and pledged Washington's support for Japan.
Group of Seven rich countries, along with funds to calm global financial markets after a tumultuous week, decided to join the rare joint action to reduce soaring yen.
Top nuclear regulatory authorities of the United States said it could take weeks to transform the overheating of fuel rods in Fukushima Daiichi plant is.
"This is something that requires some time to work, possibly in the week that finally removes most of the heat from the reactors and spent fuel pools, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission Chairman Gregory Jaczko said in a press conference at the White House.
Sand and concrete raised SOLUTION
Yukiya Amano, Director of the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has called the crisis "severe and serious" and urged the Prime Minister of Japan to release more information after his arrival in Tokyo Friday with a team of four experts.
"I'm racing against time to cool and then to contain it. It 's worse than it was at first, but I do not know than yesterday," he said, adding that experts will travel to the reactor on Saturday or Sunday.
Andrew Graham, his aide said the helicopters used to dump water on the plant showed exposure to low amounts of radiation. "The situation remains very serious, but there have been no material adverse change since yesterday," said Andrew.
The nuclear agency has said that the radiation level in the plant was up to 20 mSv per hour. The limit for workers was 100 per hour.
Although the engineers returned to the factory, it was not clear pumps do not work as they may have been damaged during the earthquake, tsunami and subsequent explosions, and there are fears of electricity short-circuit and cause a second explosion.
spokesman for the nuclear agency of Japan Hidehiko Nishiyama, said it was unclear how far the spray of water on the reactor from helicopters had been on Thursday. The priority was to find water in the pools of spent fuel, "he said.
"We need to somehow reduce the heat and could use sea water," he told a news conference. "We need to get the reactor back online as soon as possible and that is why we are trying to restore power to them."
When asked about the burial, sand and concrete reactors, said: "This solution is in our minds, but we focused on cooling the reactor down."
Jaczko said cooling pool for spent fuel rods at the reactor complex n.4 can dry out and a loss of a second.
An official with the plant operator said it expects the restoration of its reactors with more problems and damage - No. 3 and No. 4 - on Sunday. Engineers are trying to restore power reactors in the early damage.
EARNINGS dollar as financial leaders INTERVENE
The U.S. dollar rose more than two to 81.80 yen after the G7 pledge to intervene, leaving behind a record U.S. $ 76.25 hit on Thursday.
Japan's Nikkei stock index ended up 2.7 percent, to retrieve a few weeks of sharp losses. It has lost 10.2 percent this week.
U.S. markets, which sank earlier this week on the back of the crisis, were recovered Thursday, but investors are not convinced that progress would last.
The yen has remained stable since the earthquake of purchase, while the Japanese and international investors closed positions long high-yielding riskier assets like the Australian dollar, financed with cheap loans in the Japanese currency.
The expectations of insurers and Japanese companies to repatriate billions of dollars in foreign funds to pay a bill for reconstruction should be much more expensive than following the Kobe earthquake in 1995 also helped the rise of the yen.
850.00 Without electricity, LOW WATER
The fate of hundreds of thousands of people made homeless by the earthquake and tsunami worsened following a cold snap that has a heavy snowfall in the areas most affected.
Water supply, heating oil and fuel was low in the evacuation centers, where many survivors wait provided blankets. Many seniors do not have enough medical supplies. The food is often rationed.
The government announced Friday it was considering moving some of the hundreds of thousands of people evacuated areas of the country untouched by the devastation.
About 850,000 households in the north were still without electricity in near zero weather, "said Tohuku Electric Power Co. and the government says at least 1.6 million homes had no running water.
National Police Agency announced Friday that it had confirmed 6,539 deaths from the disaster of earthquake and tsunami that killed more than 6434 after the Kobe earthquake in 1995. But 10,354 people remain missing.
RADIATION within the average level in Tokyo
The government said all those who live 20 km (12 miles) to evacuate the facility, and advised people 30 km (18 miles) to remain at home.
U.S. Embassy in Tokyo asked the people living in 80 km (50 miles) from Daiichi plant to evacuate or stay at home "conservative", but Britain's Foreign Ministry urged citizens to consider leaving the area. " Other countries have urged citizens to leave the country or in Japan, to the south.
At worst, the radiation in Tokyo, has reached 0.809 micro-hours this week, 10 times less than what a person would receive if exposed to dental X-ray equipment. Thursday and Friday, the radiation levels were within the average level.
Tokyo 13 million people were warned Thursday to prepare for a blackout on a large scale possible, but the government later said there was no need for one. Yet many companies to voluntarily reduce energy consumption and reduced train services.
No comments:
Post a Comment