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Japan continued efforts Wednesday to cool down the reactors at Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s <9501> quake-hit nuclear power plant in Fukushima Prefecture, northeastern Japan.

   The firm kept working to pump seawater into the pressure vessels of the No. 1, 2 and 3 reactors of the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant. But the water levels have not reached the top of the nuclear fuel rods, and portions of the fuel rods thus remained exposed.

   The three reactors, which were operating at the time the 9.0-magnitude earthquake struck the Tohoku northeastern region including Fukushima, are believed to have experienced partial meltdowns because their cooling systems ceased to operate due to the tremor.

   Officials at the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said that the state of the reactors is very severe.

   At the Fukushima No. 1 plant early Wednesday morning, a fire broke out again at the containment building for the No. 4 reactor while thick white smoke was seen rising near the No. 3 reactor building. - Jiji Press

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U.S. shows growing alarm over Japan nuclear crisis
By Jeff Mason and Tom Doggett Jeff Mason And Tom Doggett – 1 hr 6 mins ago



Official in protective gear talks to a woman who is from the
evacuation area near the Fukushima Daini nuclear plant in
Koriyama March 13, 2011. Photo: Reuters/Kim Kyung-Hoon


WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States showed increasing alarm about Japan's nuclear crisis on Wednesday and urged its citizens to stay clear of an earthquake-crippled power plant, going further in its warnings than Japan itself.

The State Department said the United States has chartered aircraft to help Americans leave Japan and had authorized the voluntary departure of family members of diplomatic staff in Tokyo, Nagoya and Yokohama -- about 600 people.

"The State Department strongly urges U.S. citizens to defer travel to Japan at this time and those in Japan should consider departing," it said.

As operators of the Fukushima plant tried to douse overheating reactors, U.S. officials warned about the risks of getting anywhere near the area and relied on their own officials for details about the danger.

"The situation has deteriorated in the days since the tsunami and ... the situation has grown at times worse with potential greater damage and fallout from the reactor," White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters.

U.S. officials took pains not to criticize the Japanese government, which has shown signs of being overwhelmed by the crisis that began after last Friday's devastating 9.0 magnitude earthquake and resulting tsunami.

But Washington's actions indicated a divide with the Japanese about the perilousness of the situation.

U.S. President Barack Obama told Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan in a telephone call that the United States will do all it can to help Japan recover, the White House said.

"The president briefed Prime Minister Kan on the additional support being provided by the U.S., including specialized military assets with expertise in nuclear response and consequence management," it said in a statement.

The State Department recommended that U.S. citizens within 50 miles of the plant leave the area or stay indoors.

Japan's government has asked people living within 12 miles to evacuate and those between 12 miles and 18 miles to stay indoors.


More at: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/sc_nm/us_nuclear_usa

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This disaster raises questions again about the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant. It's a matter of when the Senate will tackle this issue again, and spend days and weeks or even months debating that would eventually just end with nothing, and then die down and be forgotten again. No promise of sealing the issue and finding solutions. And it will wait for yet another nuclear disaster somewhere around the world before it's going to be dug up. Just like that.

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