TOKYO/FUKUSHIMA: Japanese workers struggling to avert a nuclear disaster on Tuesday succeeded in reconnecting all six reactors to power lines at the quake-hit Fukushima plant, marking a significant progress in the tedious task of bringing the radiation-leaking complex under control.
The development came as the tsunami-hit northeast was again jolted by a series of powerful quakes, including two measuring 6.6 on the Richter Scale.
In a major relief in their efforts, engineers working overtime at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant reconnected all six reactors to external power, the plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Company said on Tuesday, according to Kyodo news agency.
The progress was made despite the efforts to restore power and cool down spent nuclear fuel pools being hampered by the detection of smoke at the No. 2 and No. 3 reactors.
However, TEPCO cautioned that a lot of work still needed to be done before electricity can actually be turned on at the plant.
The company said workers are checking all additional equipment for damage to make sure cooling systems can be safely operated.
Authorities earlier sought the help of the US military in tackling the "extremely tough" situation at the plant, close to which highly concentrated radioactivity was detected in iodine and cesium in seawater, sparking fears about food safety.
TEPCO said the seawater pollution in the region had expanded, but the country's nuclear safety agency said there were no immediate health threats.
The amount of radioactive iodine reached 80.3-fold of the standard level at the point 8 km south of the plant and 16.4-fold at the point 16 km south, Kyodo news agency reported.
The Fukushima prefectural government denied the possibility that seafood from the area was distributed to markets saying fishing had not been conducted near the nuclear plant, where emergency workers battled to avert a widespread disaster by trying to reconnect power lines and cool overheating reactors.
The critical restoration work at the plant was stalled on Monday after smoke rose from No. 2 and No. 3 reactors, fuelling fears of fresh radiation leaks from the area rocked by the March 11 quake of magnitude 9 and devastating tsunami that left over 22,000 people dead or unaccounted for in Japan's northeast.
Firefighters and the self-defense forces (SDF) on Tuesday also managed to throw in 18 tons of seawater into the nearly boiling storage pool that is holding spent nuclear fuel. The move succeeded in cooling the pool to 50 degrees Celsius, according to TEPCO.
The pool was throwing up steam possibly carrying radioactive elements into the air.
The development came as the tsunami-hit northeast was again jolted by a series of powerful quakes, including two measuring 6.6 on the Richter Scale.
In a major relief in their efforts, engineers working overtime at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant reconnected all six reactors to external power, the plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Company said on Tuesday, according to Kyodo news agency.
The progress was made despite the efforts to restore power and cool down spent nuclear fuel pools being hampered by the detection of smoke at the No. 2 and No. 3 reactors.
However, TEPCO cautioned that a lot of work still needed to be done before electricity can actually be turned on at the plant.
The company said workers are checking all additional equipment for damage to make sure cooling systems can be safely operated.
Authorities earlier sought the help of the US military in tackling the "extremely tough" situation at the plant, close to which highly concentrated radioactivity was detected in iodine and cesium in seawater, sparking fears about food safety.
TEPCO said the seawater pollution in the region had expanded, but the country's nuclear safety agency said there were no immediate health threats.
The amount of radioactive iodine reached 80.3-fold of the standard level at the point 8 km south of the plant and 16.4-fold at the point 16 km south, Kyodo news agency reported.
The Fukushima prefectural government denied the possibility that seafood from the area was distributed to markets saying fishing had not been conducted near the nuclear plant, where emergency workers battled to avert a widespread disaster by trying to reconnect power lines and cool overheating reactors.
The critical restoration work at the plant was stalled on Monday after smoke rose from No. 2 and No. 3 reactors, fuelling fears of fresh radiation leaks from the area rocked by the March 11 quake of magnitude 9 and devastating tsunami that left over 22,000 people dead or unaccounted for in Japan's northeast.
Firefighters and the self-defense forces (SDF) on Tuesday also managed to throw in 18 tons of seawater into the nearly boiling storage pool that is holding spent nuclear fuel. The move succeeded in cooling the pool to 50 degrees Celsius, according to TEPCO.
The pool was throwing up steam possibly carrying radioactive elements into the air.
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