Cooler but still well above normal this week

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By ERIC TALMADGE and MARI YAMAGUCHI, Associated Press

 ZAO, Japan (AP) - Japanese military helicopters dumped loads of
seawater onto a stricken nuclear reactor Thursday, trying to avoid
full meltdowns as plant operators said they were close to finishing
a new power line that could restore cooling systems and ease the
crisis.


      U.S. officials in Washington, meanwhile, warned that the
Fukushima Dai-ichi plant in northeastern Japan may be on the verge
of spewing more radioactive material because water was gone from a
storage pool for spent nuclear fuel rods.


      The troubles at several of the plant's reactors were set off
when last week's earthquake and tsunami knocked out power and
ruined backup generators needed for their cooling systems, adding a
major nuclear crisis for Japan as it dealt with twin natural
disasters that killed more than 10,000 people and left hundreds of
thousands homeless.


      A Japanese military CH-47 Chinook helicopter began dumping
seawater on the damaged reactor of Unit 3 at the Fukushima complex
at 9:48 a.m., said defense ministry spokeswoman Kazumi Toyama. The
aircraft dumped at least four loads on the reactor, though much of
the water appeared to be dispersed in the air.


      The dumping was intended both to help cool the reactor and to
replenish water in a pool holding spent fuel rods, Toyama said. The
plant's owner, Tokyo Electric Power Co., said earlier that the pool
was nearly empty, which might cause the rods to overheat.


      The comments from U.S. officials indicated there were similar
problems at another unit of the Dai-ichi complex.


      U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Chairman Gregory Jaczko said
at a congressional hearing in Washington that all the water was
gone from a separate spent fuel pool at the plant's Unit 4.
Japanese officials expressed similar worries about that unit, but
that it was impossible to be sure of its status.


      Emergency workers were forced to retreat from the plant
Wednesday when radiation levels soared, losing precious time. They
resumed work after radiation levels dropped, but much of the
monitoring equipment in the plant is inoperable, complicating
efforts to assess the situation.


      "We are afraid that the water level at unit 4 is the lowest,"
said Hikaru Kuroda, facilities management official at Tokyo
Electric Power Co. But he added, "Because we cannot get near it,
the only way to monitor the situation is visually from far away."


      Japanese officials raised hopes of easing the crisis, saying
early Thursday that they may be close to bringing power back to the
plant and restoring the reactors' cooling systems.


      The new power line would revive electric-powered pumps, allowing
the company to control the rising temperatures and pressure that
have led to at least partial meltdowns in three reactors. The
company is also trying to repair its existing disabled power line.


      Tokyo Electric Power spokesman Naoki Tsunoda said the new power
line to the plant is almost finished and that officials plan to try
it "as soon as possible," but he could not say exactly when.
      

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Disasters

Nuclear plant operators trying to avoid
complete reactor meltdowns said Thursday that they were close to
completing a new power line that might end Japan's crisis, but
several ominous signs have also emerged: a surge in radiation
levels, unexplained white smoke and spent fuel rods that U.S.
officials said could be on the verge of spewing radioactive
material.

Helicopters dump water to cool reactor in Japan

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