Nuclear Meltdown

Japan suspends air drop on stricken reactor

(Agencies)
Updated: 2011-03-17 14:21

A Japan Air Self-Defense Force CH-47 Chinook helicopter collects water from the ocean to drop on the reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant in Fukushima March 17, 2011. [Photo/Agencies]

ZAO, Japan - Japanese officials suspended army helicopter flights Thursday to dump water on an overheated reactor at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear complex disabled by last week's tsunami. They are evaluating if the unusual measure worked. At the same reactor, soldiers sprayed 30 tons of water toward a pool where used fuel is stored, hoping to cool it and keep it from catching fire. Police failed in an earlier attempt to cool the pool with water cannon.

Japan will continue dropping water from the air on the No 3 reactor of its quake-stricken nuclear power plant on Friday, the country's nuclear safety agency said on Thursday night.

In a separate statement, the Fukushima Daiichi plant's owner, Tokyo Electric Power Co , said white smoke or steam had been seen coming from the No 2 reactor.

Special coverage: Earthquake Hits Japan Related readings:  Japanese in quake-hit area suffer from lack of food  Fears mount with desperate steps taken to cool reactors  Helicopters dump water to cool reactor in Japan

In an encouraging development, crews were finishing laying a new cable to supply more reliable electricity to motors, valves and pumps needed to keep reactors cool.

US officials said Unit 4 also was seriously at risk.

US Nuclear Regulatory Commission Chairman Gregory Jaczko said at a congressional hearing in Washington that all the water was gone from that unit's spent fuel pool. Jaczko said anyone who gets close to the plant could face potentially lethal doses of radiation.

"We believe radiation levels are extremely high," he said.

Tokyo Electric executives said Thursday that they believed the rods in that pool were covered with water, but an official with Japan's nuclear safety agency later expressed skepticism about that and moved closer to the US position.

"Considering the amount of radiation released in the area, the fuel rods are more likely to be exposed than to be covered," Yuichi Sato said.