Cooler but still well above normal this week

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By SHINO YUASA and JAY ALABASTER, Associated Press


      TOKYO (AP) - A suspected breach in the reactor core at one unit
of a stricken Fukushima nuclear plant could mean more serious
radioactive contamination,Japanese officials said Friday, revealing
what may prove a major setback in the mission to bring the leaking
plant under control.


      The uncertain situation halted work at the Fukushima Dai-ichi
nuclear complex, where dozens had been working feverishly to stop
the overheated plant from leaking dangerous radiation, officials
said. The plant has leaked some low levels of radiation, but a
breach could mean a much larger release of contaminants.


      Officials are also grappling with a humanitarian crisis, with
much of the frigid northeast still a scene of despair and
devastation as Japan struggles to feed and house hundreds of
thousands of homeless survivors, clear away debris and bury the
dead.


      Police said the official death toll jumped past 10,000 on
Friday. With the cleanup and recovery operations continuing and
more than 17,400 listed as missing, the final number of dead was
expected to surpass 18,000.


      In the devastated coastal town of Onagawa, Shintaro Kamihara and
his small troop from Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force searched a
debris-strewn beach long enough to serve as an impromptu coffin.


      The corpse they found lay off to the side of the road beneath a
wet, yellow blanket. Just beyond, a station wagon perched
precariously on the roof of a hollowed-out, two-story hotel.


      In the early days, he said his troops delivered goods to coastal
towns with no access, but now roads have been repaired. A large
boat nearby had hot water so people could take baths onboard.

      Tomohiko Abe, 45, a machinist at the local atomic plant, was in
Onagawa to salvage what he could from his car, which was parked in
a lot near the water when the waves came crashing onshore.


      "We finally got electricity a day or two ago, but water is
still a problem," he said.


      He said he has not had a bath or shower since the quake two
weeks ago.


      "It's still like I'm in a dream," he said. "People say it's
like a movie, but it's been worse than any movie I've ever seen."


      In Fukushima, the confusion at the nuclear plant was yet another
setback to the urgent task of gaining control of the facility 140
miles (220 kilometers) northeast of Tokyo.


      Suspicions of a possible breach were raised when two workers
waded into water 10,000 times more radioactive than is typical and
suffered skin burns, the Nuclear and Industry Safety Agency said.


      However, though damage cannot be ruled out, the cause remained
unclear, spokesman Hidehiko Nishiyama told reporters.


      "It is possible there may be damage somewhere in the reactor,"
he said, adding that a leak in the plumbing or the vents could also
be to blame.


      Elevated levels of radiation have already turned up in raw milk,
seawater and 11 kinds of vegetables, including broccoli,
cauliflower and turnips. Tap water in several areas of Japan -
including Tokyo - also tested with radiation levels considered
unsafe for infants, who are particularly vulnerable to
cancer-causing radioactive iodine, officials said.


      The scare caused a run on bottled water in the capital, and
prompted officials to distribute bottled water to families with
babies.


      Previous radioactive emissions have come from intentional
efforts to vent small amounts of steam through valves to prevent
the core from bursting. However, releases from a breach could allow
uncontrolled quantities of radioactive contaminants to escape into
the surrounding ground or air.


      Government spokesman Yukio Edano said Thursday's accident showed
"safety measures may not be adequate" and warned that may
contribute to rising anxiety among people about how the disaster is
being managed.


      "We have to make sure that safety is secured for the people
working in that area. We truly believe that is incumbent upon us,"
the chief Cabinet secretary told reporters Friday, adding that
plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co., was ordered to ensure
workers' safety.


      Meanwhile, damage to factories was taking its toll on the
world's third-largest economy and creating a ripple effect felt
worldwide.


      Nissan Motor Co. said it may move part of its engine production
line to the United States because of damage to a plant.


      The quake and tsunami are emerging as the world's most expensive
natural disasters on record, wreaking up to $310 billion in
damages, the government said.


      "There is no doubt that we have immense economic and financial
damage," Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda said. "It will be our
task how to recover from the damage."


      At Sendai's port, brand new Toyota cars lay crushed in piles. At
the airport, flooded by the tsunami on March 11, U.S. Marines used
bulldozers and shovels to shift wrecked cars that lay scattered
like discarded toys.


      With fuel at a premium, the line of cars waiting for gasoline
stretched down the street - and those patient enough to make it to
the pump were restricted to 4,000-yen (about $40) worth of fuel.


      Still, there were examples resilience, patience and fortitude
across the region.


      In Soma, a hard-hit town along the Fukushima prefecture coast,
rubble covered the block where Hiroshi Suzuki's home once stood. He
watched as soldiers dug into mounds of timber had been neighbors'
homes in search of bodies. Just three bodies have been pulled out.


      "I never expected to have to live through anything like this,"
he said, mournfully. Suzuki is one of Soma's lucky, but the tsunami
washed away the shop where he sold fish and seaweed.


      "My business is gone. I don't think I will ever be able to
recover," said Suzuki, 59.


      Still, he managed to find a bright side. "The one good thing is
the way everyone is pulling together and helping each other. No one
is stealing or looting," he said.


      "It makes me feel proud to be Japanese."


      Alabaster reported from Onagawa. Associated Press writers Tomoko
A. Hosaka, Jean H. Lee and Jeff Donn in Tokyo, Eric Talmadge in
Soma and Johnson Lai in Sendai contributed to this report.

Gallery

No quick fix at Japan's nuclear plant

Disasters

A suspected breach in the reactor core at one unit
of a stricken Fukushima nuclear plant could mean more serious
radioactive contamination,Japanese officials said Friday, revealing
what may prove a major setback in the mission to bring the leaking
plant under control.

Dangerous breach suspected at Japanese nuke plant

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