IAEA
chief calls situation 'very serious', heads to Japan
Thursday March 17, 2011 01:14:16 PM,
DPA
|
Vienna: The head of
the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Yukiya Amano,
called the situation at the Fukushima nuclear plant "very serious"
Wednesday as he prepared to fly to Japan.There have been fears of
a meltdown at the plant ever since last week's magnitude-9
earthquake and ensuing tsunami disabled the cooling systems at all
of the plant's reactors.
"The situation is very serious," Amano, who is Japanese said of
the damages at the core of reactors 1, 2 and 3.
Nevertheless, with workers engaged in an-all out effort to
stabilize the situation, Amano stressed that "it is not the time
to say that things are out of control".
The IAEA director general said he would leave as soon as Thursday
for a high-level meeting to explore further areas of cooperation
between his agency and Japan, and to improve the flow of
communication.
"There has certainly been room for improvement," he said.
A small group of IAEA experts were set to fly to Tokyo with Amano.
Japan has requested experts to monitor the environmental situation
around Fukushima.
The IAEA chief also said that there is not enough water in the
reactor vessels to fully cover the hot nuclear material, and that
temperatures have been rising at three ponds that store spent
fuel.
Workers at Fukushima have battled to keep the reactors cool by
injecting sea water to keep fuel rods submerged, but there have
nevertheless been a series of explosions and fires at the complex.
White smoke was seen rising Wednesday morning from reactor 3,
after a fire broke out for a second day at reactor 4.
Elevated radiation levels at the plant Wednesday led to the
temporary evacuation of the 50 workers who have been left behind.
Plans to drop water on reactor 3 with helicopters were dropped.
The radiation rate dropped to 2.6 millisieverts shortly before
0300 GMT, down from around health-damaging 1,000 millisieverts
observed overnight.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said Wednesday that the
containment vessel of reactor 3 is unlikely to be severely
damaged, stepping back from an earlier comment to the contrary,
Japan's Kyodo news agency reported.
|
Home |
Top of the Page |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Top
Stories |

Maha
minority panel to demand Muslim youths' release at National meet
A day after the special MCOCA court in
Mumbai dismissed the bail application of the nine Muslim youths
arrested in the 2006 Malegaon
»
A shocked
Malegaon decides to intensify protest, appeals NGOs to join hands
Relatives, activists shaken by rejection of bail plea; to move for
an appeal |
|
Most
Read |

Kashmir
movement not an Islamic campaign: Dr. SAR Geelani
A panel discussion on
–“Kashmir Imbroglio: Need for Peace and Settlement” was organised
by the Aligarh Muslim University Students’ Union, (AMUSU), at the
Kennedy Auditorium in
» |
Five killed
in Bahrain protest, military imposes curfew
The death toll from clashes between
anti-government protesters and Bahraini security forces rose to
five Wednesday, as the military imposed a curfew and warned people
not to gather in public places.
»
GCC
troops arrive in Bahrain to maintain order
|
|
News Pick |

Bhiwandi
to New Delhi on motorbike… Alam Khan drives to seek justice
On the first anniversary of 26/11 Mumbai terror attack,
he walked from Bhiwandi to Mumbai. On the second, from Bhikku
Chowk in Malegaon to Mumbai he went on
» |
Pakistani
court frees US official Raymond Davis
A Pakistani court Wednesday freed
Raymond Davis, a US official arrested for gunning
»
Pakistan
court indicts Davis for double murder
|
Raja
associate Sadiq Batcha commits suicide
Sadiq Batcha, a close associate of former union communications
minister A. Raja and had been questioned by the CBI in the 2G
spectrum scam, committed suicide here Wednesday, police said.
According to police
»
|
A Japanese
student in US saw on YouTube her family is alive
A student from Japan in the US was
distraught after disaster struck her country. But she burst out
with joy when she saw a YouTube video that showed her family home
as the only one standing amid rubble. The video also highlighted
»
|
UNESCO
award for Nizam's palace
The Chowmahalla Palace, seat of power of Nizams, has been given
the prestigious UNESCO Asia-Pacific Heritage Merit Award for
Culture Heritage Conservation. At a ceremony organised at the
palace premises yesterday
»
|
|
Picture of the Day |
 |
Minority
Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid inaugurating the Moot Court
Building at Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) March 12. Salman
Khurshid visited the university to deliver Dr. Ambedkar
Memorial Lecture 2010-2011. During his lecture, Khurshid
pitched for AMU's minority character. |
|
|
|