The operator of the quake-damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant says it is trying to install new power lines to reactivate its cooling systems in a desperate effort to stop the ongoing radioactive leakage.
Tokyo Electric Power Company says it wants to start the work to install the new lines as early as Thursday morning.
Emergency diesel power generators in the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant failed to work because of a power blackout following the earthquake. They were also damaged by the ensuing tsunami.
The troubled diesel power generators caused the cooling systems to fail, which then affected the Number-1, -2 and -3 reactors. All the spent fuel rods housed in the 6 reactor buildings were also affected.
As a result, the rods remained hot and exposed above the surface of the coolant water. Damage and melting may have occurred.
The top priority at the moment is restoring the functions of the cooling systems now that radiation is continuing to leak from the plant.
Tokyo Power Electric Company says it is considering laying new power lines into the plant directly from cables of another power company. The company says it hopes to reactivate the cooling systems by connecting the cables to a makeshift switchboard and using them as an emergency power source for the systems.
But the company says it was unable to carry out the work on Wednesday because of high readings of radiation in the compound.
The company says it will try to complete the installation as soon as possible after reviewing the procedures in order to keep the workers' radiation exposure to a minimum.
Thursday, March 17, 2011 05:35 +0900 (JST) originally published at http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/17_02.html
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