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Japan's TEPCO preparing to release radiation from second reactor

TOKYO | Sat Mar 12, 2011 5:51pm EST

TOKYO (Reuters) - Tokyo Electric Power Co (9501.T) has begun preparation to release radioactive steam from a second reactor at its quake-struck Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power facility, a spokesman said on Sunday.

The TEPCO spokesman said preparation work for the release began at 7:30 a.m. (5:30 p.m. EST).

An official from Japan's nuclear safety watchdog said earlier on Sunday that it had received a report from Japan's largest power producer at 5:10 a.m. that the facility's No. 3 reactor had completely lost its emergency cooling function.

The TEPCO spokesman said the amount of radiation to be released would be small and not of a level that would affect human health.

The No. 1 reactor at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in northeastern Japan had released radiation on Saturday, after a powerful earthquake and tsunami in northeastern Japan the day before left it with a crippled cooling system and the operator was forced to release pressure that had built up in the reactor.

(Reporting by Kiyoshi Takenaka and Risa Maeda; Editing by Ed Klamann)
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Comments (4)
greektragedy0 wrote:
” TEPCO spokesman said the amount of radiation to be released would be small and not of a level that would affect human health”

what a crock. how can that ever be determined? They do this to release pressure but that means it will dilute into the atmosphere. And humans will not be affected directly? we, humans and all other mammals will be affected by this eventually.

God help the people in Japan.

Mar 12, 2011 6:33pm EST  --  Report as abuse
ChrisGST wrote:
Believe it or not there is science behind how all this works and it’s been well developed since it was discovered in the early 1900s. They know the worse case possibilities down to the individual atoms expected to be produced so yes they do have a good idea of what they are doing. While I do feel sympathy to the people exposed I seriously doubt that the radiation levels they were exposed to are life treating or going to cause any damage to their body.

Mar 12, 2011 7:53pm EST  --  Report as abuse
Skylor wrote:
Toyota said at first there was no brake problems what so ever, til outsiders proved them wrong.

Glad I don’t live in Tokyo, make that anywhere in Japan.

Mar 12, 2011 7:58pm EST  --  Report as abuse
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