Fears mount as Japan races against time to cool reactors

Linda Sieg and Chisa Fujioka, Reuters
March 17, 2011

TOKYO (Reuters) - Operators of a quake-crippled nuclear plant in Japan dumped water on overheating reactors on Thursday while the United States expressed growing alarm about leaking radiation and said it was chartering aircraft to help Americans leave the country.

Engineers were rushing against time to run in a power line off the main grid to fire up the water pumps needed to cool two reactors and the spent fuel rods considered most at risk.

While Japanese officials were scrambling with a patchwork of fixes at the facility, the top U.S. nuclear regulator warned that reactor No.4's cooling pool for spent fuel rods may have run dry and another was leaking.

"There is no water in the spent fuel pool and we believe that radiation levels are extremely high, which could possibly impact the ability to take corrective measures," Gregory Jaczko, head of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, told a U.S. House Energy and Commerce subcommittee hearing.

"It would be very difficult for emergency workers to get near the reactors. The doses they could experience would potentially be lethal doses in a very short period of time."

The plant operator said it believed the No.4 reactor spent fuel pool still had water as of Wednesday.

U.S. officials took pains not to criticise the Japanese government, which has shown signs of being overwhelmed by the crisis, but Washington's actions indicated a divide with the Japanese about the perilousness of the situation.

"The worst-case scenario doesn't bear mentioning and the best-case scenario keeps getting worse," Perpetual Investments said in a note on the crisis.

Japan said the United States would fly a high-altitude drone over the stricken complex to gauge the situation, and had offered to send nuclear experts.

A State Department official said flights would be laid on for Americans to leave and family of embassy staff had been authorised to leave if they wanted.

Health experts said panic over radiation leaks from the Daiichi plant, around 240 km (150 miles) north of Tokyo, was diverting attention from other life-threatening risks confronting survivors of last Friday's 9.0 magnitude earthquake and tsunami, such as cold weather, heavy snow in parts and access to fresh water.

The head of the world's nuclear watchdog said it was not accurate to say things were "out of control" in Japan, but the situation was "very serious," with core damage to three units at the plant.

However, Sebastian Pflugbeil, president of the private German-based Society for Radiation Protection, said Japan's efforts to pull the Fukushima plant back from the brink signalled "the beginning of the catastrophic phase."

"Maybe we have to pray," he said, adding that a wind blowing any nuclear fallout east into the Pacific would limit any damage for Japan's 127 million people in case of a meltdown or other releases, for instance from spent fuel storage pools.

The latest images from the plant showed severe damage to some of the buildings after several explosions.

MARKETS SWOON, G7 MINISTERS TO HOLD EMERGENCY CALL

A stream of gloomy warnings and reports on the Japan crisis from experts and officials around the world triggered a sharp fall in U.S. financial markets, with all three major stock indexes slumping on fears of slower worldwide growth.

In a sign of the degree of concern among top policymakers, one G7 central banker, who asked not to be identified, said he was "extremely worried" about the wider effects of the crisis in Japan, the world's third-largest economy.

"I think the world economy is going to go right down and it has happened at a time when financial markets are still very fragile," he said.

G7 finance ministers will hold a conference call later on Thursday to discuss steps to help Japan cope with the financial and economic impact of the disaster, a source said.

The yen surged to a record high against the dollar on market speculation Japan would repatriate funds to pay for the massive cost of post-disaster reconstruction. The yen rose as high as 76.25 per dollar, surpassing the previous record high of 79.75 reached in the wake of the Kobe earthquake in 1995.

Japanese Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda blamed speculation for the yen's surge and repeated his warning that he would closely watch market action.

Japan's Nikkei average fell sharply on opening on Thursday, and was down nearly 2 percent at 4:45 a.m. British time.

BID TO GET POWER RESTORED TO REACTORS

Japan's nuclear agency said radiation levels at the plant "continued to fall," but the government appealed to private companies to help deliver supplies to tens of thousands of people evacuated from a 30-km (18-mile) zone around the complex.

Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) officials said bulldozers attempted to clear a route to the reactor so fire trucks could gain access and try to cool the facility using hoses.

High radiation levels on Wednesday prevented a helicopter from dropping water into No. 3 to try to cool its fuel rods after an earlier explosion damaged its roof and cooling system.

Another attempt on Thursday appeared to be partially successful, with two of four water drops over the site hitting their mark. The giant, twin-blade aircraft have to make precisely timed flyovers and drops to avoid the brunt of the radiation.

The plant operator described No. 3 -- the only reactor at that uses plutonium in its fuel mix -- as the "priority." Experts described plutonium as a very nasty isotope that could cause cancer if very small quantities were ingested.

The situation at No. 4 reactor, where the fire broke out, was "not so good," TEPCO said on Wednesday, while water was being poured into reactors No.5 and 6, indicating the entire six-reactor facility was now at risk of overheating.

EMBASSIES URGE CITIZENS TO LEAVE

Scores of flights to Japan have been halted or rerouted and air travellers are avoiding Tokyo for fear of radiation.

On Thursday, the U.S. embassy in Tokyo urged citizens living within 50 miles (80 km) of the Daiichi plant to evacuate or remain indoors "as a precaution," while Britain's foreign office urged citizens "to consider leaving the area."

The warnings were not as strong as those issued earlier by France and Australia, which urged nationals in Japan to leave the country. Russia said it planned to evacuate families of diplomats on Friday.

At its worst, radiation in Tokyo has reached 0.809 microsieverts per hour this week, 10 times below what a person would receive if exposed to a dental x-ray. Early on Thursday, radiation levels were barely above average.

But many Tokyo residents stayed indoors, usually busy streets were nearly deserted and many shops and offices were closed.

One bank, Mizuho, said all its automatic teller machines in the country briefly crashed. It doubted the problem was connected to the earthquake or power cuts, but it triggered a rush to withdraw cash from machines in the capital.

GLOBAL QUALMS OVER NUCLEAR POWER

In a demonstration of the qualms about nuclear power that the crisis has triggered around the globe, China announced that it was suspending approvals for planned plants and would launch a comprehensive safety check of facilities.

China has about two dozen reactors under construction and plans to increase nuclear electricity generation about seven-fold over the next 10 years.

Russia said nuclear power was safe provided power stations were built in the right place and designed and managed properly, but ordered checks at nuclear facilities.

In Japan, the plight of hundreds of thousands left homeless by the earthquake and tsunami worsened following a cold snap that brought heavy snow to worst-affected areas.

Supplies of water and heating oil are low at evacuation centres, where many survivors wait bundled in blankets.

About 850,000 households in the north were still without electricity in near-freezing weather, Tohuku Electric Power Co. said, and the government said at least 1.5 million households lack running water.

"It's cold today so many people have fallen ill, getting diarrhoea and other symptoms," said Takanori Watanabe, a Red Cross doctor in Otsuchi, a low-lying town where more than half the 17,000 residents are still missing.

The National Police Agency said it has confirmed 4,314 deaths in 12 prefectures as of midnight Wednesday, while 8,606 people remained unaccounted for in six prefectures.

(Additional reporting by Nathan Layne, Risa Maeda, Isabel Reynolds, Terril Yue Jones and Leika Kihara in Tokyo; Chris Meyers and Kim Kyung-hoon in Sendai; Taiga Uranaka and Ki Joon Kwon in Fukushima, Noel Randewich in San Francisco, and Miyoung Kim in Seoul; Writing by Nick Macfie; Editing by John Chalmers)

Dog in Japan stays by the side of its ailing friend in the rubble

Brett Michael Dykes

It's a universal truth that dogs are man's best friend, but they're pretty darn loyal to their own as well. Case in point: this tear-inducing video, via the website Jezebel, showing a dog, shivering and disoriented, remaining loyally by the side of a stricken fellow canine amid the devastation of the Japanese tsunami.

You can watch the video below:

You don't have to speak Japanese to understand the sympathetic tones of the two men observing these dogs who are also disaster victims -- and one loyal dog refusing to leave his hurt friend's side. There is so much we don't understand about the emotional lives of animals. But we know they can suffer tremendously, and we know they care for each other.

We wish all the people and animals of Japan heartfelt concern during this incomprehensibly difficult time. We know that the people of Japan will respond like these two friends, never abandoning each other in this time of need. Ganbatte kudasai! ("Don't give up!") -- Global Animal

The video is a stark reminder that, as was the case when Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast in 2005, there will likely be thousands of pets orphaned or involuntarily abandoned due to the catastrophe in Japan. If you'd like to help efforts to help these animals, you can find info on doing so here.

UPDATE: CNN and the UK Telegraph have both reported that the dogs have been rescued since the footage aired, and are both receiving veterinary care; the more seriously wounded dog is at a clinic in the city of Mito, while the protective spaniel-type dog is receiving care at a shelter in the same town.

Here is an English translation of the voice over exchange between the two reporters in the clip (translation courtesy of Toshiyuki Kitamura):

We are in Arahama area. Looks like there is a dog. There is a dog. He looks tired and dirty. He must have been caught in the tsunami. He looks very dirty.

He has a collar. He must be someone's pet. He has a silver collar. He is shaking. He seems very afraid.

Oh, there is another dog. I wonder if he is dead.

Where?

Right there. There is another dog right next to the one sitting down. He is not moving. I wonder. I wonder if he is alright.

The dog is protecting him.

Yes. He is protecting the dog. That is why he did not want us to approach them. He was trying to keep us at bay.

I can't watch this. This is a very difficult to watch.

Oh. Look. He is moving. He is alive. I am so happy to see that he is alive.

Yes! Yes! He is alive.

He looks to be weakened. We need to them to be rescued soon. We really want them rescued soon.

Oh good. He's getting up.

It is amazing how they survived the tremendous earthquake and tsunami. It's just amazing that they survived through this all.

Japan helicopters dump water on nuclear plant

TOKYO (AFP) - Japanese military helicopters dumped water Thursday from huge buckets onto the stricken Fukushima nuclear power plant in a bid to douse fuel rods, television images showed.

A total of three twin-rotor CH-47 Chinooks of the Self-Defence Forces each emptied more than seven tonnes of water onto reactors three and four, according to public broadcaster NHK.

Engineers were focusing their efforts on restoring the power supply to a quake-damaged nuclear plant in an attempt to reactivate its cooling system and avert a meltdown.

Last Friday's massive earthquake and tsunami knocked out the power supply and back-up generators at the Fukushima No. 1 plant on the Pacific coast, some 250 kilometres (155 miles) northeast of Tokyo.

The lack of power has sent temperatures soaring in reactors with fuel rods being exposed as the cooling water evaporated and emitting hydrogen gas and possibly radioactive material, triggering fears of a meltdown.

Plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) said it was preparing to restore outside power lines and connect its damaged transmission system to unaffected lines.

"At the moment, we are concentrating our efforts on this work," spokesman Naohiro Omura told AFP.

"If the restoration work is completed, we will be able to activate various electric pumps and pour water into reactors and pools for spent nuclear fuel."

The Japanese crews grappling with the world's worst nuclear incident since Chernobyl in 1986 were briefly evacuated Wednesday after a spike in radiation levels at the plant.



Earlier they contended with a new fire and feared damage to the vessel containing one of the plant's six reactor cores.

There are also major fears about pools holding spent fuel rods at the plant, which need water to keep them cool. Unlike the reactors, they have no containment vessels.

Facts on the Japan disaster

Some 70 workers have been using low-capacity fire pumps to pour seawater to cool reactors at the plant, according to media reports. They are using electricity from borrowed power supply cars.

A Japanese army helicopter Wednesday aborted its mission to dump water onto the fuel rods due to the high level of radiation above the reactors.

UN atomic watchdog chief Yukiya Amano said the situation at the plant was "very serious" as he prepared to fly out to see the damage for himself.

Japan's Emperor Akihito gave a rare address to a jittery nation Wednesday as the nuclear emergency deepened and millions struggled in desperate conditions after the quake and tsunami disaster.

The television appearance by the emperor emphasised the gravity of the crisis gripping Japan after the 9.0-magnitude quake and the monster waves it unleashed.

Akihito said he was "deeply concerned" about the "unpredictable" situation at the stricken power plant.

"I sincerely hope that we can keep the situation from getting worse," Akihito said in a historic televised address that marked the first time he has intervened in a national crisis.

Gregory Jaczko, chair of the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission, warned there was no water left in the spent fuel pool of reactor 4, resulting in "extremely high" radiation levels.

The US military will send a spy drone to take a closer look at the reactors in the troubled plant, Kyodo News reported.

Engineers have been desperately battling a feared meltdown at the 40-year-old plant since the earthquake and tsunami knocked out cooling systems and fuel rods began overheating.

The workers at the plant, which has been hit by four explosions and two fires, have been hailed as heroes.

"Please don't forget that there are people who are working to protect everyone's lives in exchange for their own lives," said one post on Japanese social networking site Mixi.

Focus: 'No radiation threat' outside exclusion zone'

The government has warned people living up to 10 kilometres (six miles) beyond the 20-kilometre exclusion zone around the plant to stay indoors. More than 200,000 people have already been evacuated from the zone.

The US embassy in Tokyo warned American citizens living within 50 miles (80 kilometres) of the plant to evacuate or seek shelter.

Other foreign governments also urged their citizens to steer clear of the quake-stricken northeast of Japan and the capital Tokyo amid fears of further aftershocks and a widening nuclear disaster.

Focus: Foreign governments urge nationals to leave

Japan's chief government spokesman Yukio Edano however said radiation levels from the plant posed no immediate health threat outside the 20-kilometre exclusion zone.

But as crews battled to prevent a nuclear meltdown, the European Union's energy chief said the situation had spun out of control.

"The site is effectively out of control," energy commissioner Guenther Oettinger told a European Parliament committee, one day after he said Japan was facing "apocalypse."

France's Nuclear Safety Authority said the disaster now equated to a six on the seven-point international scale for nuclear accidents, ranking the crisis second only in gravity to the level-seven Chernobyl disaster in 1986.

Amano, the Japanese chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency, had insisted Tuesday there was no comparison to the Chernobyl crisis, when radiation spewed across Europe.



Focus: Fuel-rod pools, the latest threat in Fukushima crisis

Aside from the nuclear threat, the full scale of the quake and tsunami disaster was becoming clear as more details emerged of the staggering death and devastation in the worst-hit northeast.

"The number of people killed is increasing day by day and we do not know how many people have fallen victim," said the emperor, who is held in deep respect by many Japanese. "I pray for the safety of as many people as possible."

"People are being forced to evacuate in such severe conditions of bitter cold, with shortages of water and fuel... I cannot help praying that rescue work is done swiftly and people's lives get better, even a little."

And already jangled nerves were frayed further by a series of aftershocks including a strong 6.0-magnitude earthquake that swayed buildings in Tokyo.

The official toll of the dead and missing after the quake and tsunami flattened Japan's northeast coast rose to nearly 13,000, police said, with the number of confirmed dead at 4,314.

But reports continued to come in which indicated that the final toll could be much higher, with the mayor of the coastal town of Ishinomaki saying the number of missing there was likely to hit 10,000, Kyodo News reported.

On Saturday, public broadcaster NHK reported that around 10,000 people were also unaccounted for in the port town of Minamisanriku, again in Miyagi prefecture.

Millions have been left without water, electricity, fuel or enough food and hundreds of thousands more are homeless, stoically coping with freezing cold and wet conditions in the northeast.

The governor of Fukushima prefecture, home to the crippled nuclear plant, said people were at breaking point.

"The worry and anger of the people of Fukushima has been pushed to the limit," Yuhei Sato told NHK.

With nerves on edge across the world's third-biggest economy and beyond, people across Asia have been stripping shelves of essentials for fear of a major emission of radiation from the power plant on the east coast.

The Japanese government has warned that panic buying in towns and cities that have not been directly affected by the twin disasters could hurt its ability to provide aid to the devastated areas.

Radiation levels in the capital's vast urban sprawl of 30 million people have see-sawed without ever reaching harmful levels, according to the government.
Beyond Japan, Asian nations vowed to crack down on hoax messages warning about radiation spreading beyond Japan, which have helped stoke growing unease over the unfolding crisis.

US increase Japan nuclear evacuation area

AAP March 17, 2011

US officials have warned citizens living within 80 kilometres of a crippled Japanese nuclear plant to evacuate or seek shelter, amid mounting concern of a catastrophic meltdown.

The evacuation order came as the chairman of the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) on Wednesday warned there was no water left in the spent fuel pool of reactor 4 at the Fukushima nuclear plant, resulting in "extremely high" radiation levels.

US officials designated a much wider no-go zone than the 20-kilometre radius perimetre set up by the Japanese after experts reviewed scientific and technical data about the nuclear crisis following Friday's massive earthquake and tsunami.

"We are recommending, as a precaution, that American citizens who live within 80 kilometres of the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant evacuate the area or to take shelter indoors if safe evacuation is not practical," the US embassy in Tokyo said in a statement.

In Washington, NRC chairman Gregory Jaczko told lawmakers that a fourth reactor unit at the nuclear complex was giving cause for concern following a hydrogen explosion there a few days ago.

"We believe that secondary containment has been destroyed and there is no water in the spent fuel pool and we believe that radiation levels are extremely high which could possibly impact the ability to take corrective measures," Jaczko said, adding that his agency had recommended the wider evacuation zone.

"Based on the available information that we have that for a comparable situation in the United States, we would recommend an evacuation for a much larger radius than has currently been provided in Japan," he said.

The White House acknowledged that the advice went beyond the recommendation Japan gave, but declined to evaluate the Japanese data.

"This crisis is happening in Japan. Obviously, the Japanese government has the lead here with regards to dealing with the crisis and advising its people," said White House spokesman Jay Carney.

"There are alot of Americans in Japan. When the data that we receive is analysed independently, we are going to give advice based on our analysis," he added.

Carney said that Washington informed Japanese officials of its wider evacuation recommendation before it was released.

US troops and pilots on rescue operations in Japan are barred from venturing into the potentially radioactive area around the stricken Fukushima plant without specific orders, Pentagon spokesman Colonel Dave Lapan said.

The US military has delivered high-pressure water pumps and fire trucks for use at Fukushima, but has not been asked to join directly in the effort to contain the damage at the atomic plant, Lapan said.

Testing earlier showed 17 US helicopter crew members from the USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier had been contaminated with low levels of radiation.

The military also gave potassium iodide anti-radiation pills to some US air crews who were scheduled to fly within the "vicinity" of the crippled Fukushima plant as a precaution, Lapan said.

Ambassador John Roos in Tokyo told reporters that 34 experts arrived in Japan carrying both ground and aerial equipment to monitor radiation levels.

"We're deploying all these capabilities because there is a crisis going on and it's important to provide as much assistance to the Japanese as possible, and in addition we have our own citizens here in Japan," Roos said.

Roos denied the measure displayed any lack of trust in Japanese capabilities.

The embassy stressed earlier that "there are numerous factors in the aftermath of the earthquake and tsunami, including weather, wind direction and speed, and the nature of the reactor problem" which would affect the risk of radioactive contamination.

Naohiro Omura, a spokesman for plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), told AFP that the company was focusing on restoring power to reactivate the plant's crippled cooling systems "as soon as possible."

The Fukushima No.1 power plant has been hit by a series of explosions since the quake and tsunami knocked out reactor cooling systems.