Japan Latest: The Crisis at the Nuclear Plant
Wednesday, March 16, 2011 at 6:12
1611 GMT: The situation at the nuclear plants is urgent, indeed. Reuters has this flash update:
"IAEA head says core damage at units 1-3 of Japan's quake-hit nuclear plant confirmed, situation very serious"
1510 GMT: The mayor of Ishinomaki, in Miyagi Prefecture in northeast Japan, says it is likely that 10,000 are missing from the town.
The International Atomic Energy Agency says #Japanese authorities are concerned over the condition of pools for spent nuclear fuel pools at the Fukushima No. 3 and No. 4 nuclear reactor complexes.
0945 GMT: The New York Times summarises the situation at the Fukushima nuclear plant:
The authorities announced that a second reactor unit at the stricken Fukushima Daiichi plant in northeastern Japan may have ruptured and appeared to be releasing radio steam.
Such were the radiation levels above the plant, moreover, that the Defense Force put off a highly unusual plan to dump water from military helicopters to lower temperatures in an overheating pool containing spent fuel rods, news reports said.