UPDATE AS OF 12 P.M. EDT, SUNDAY, APRIL 3:
Tokyo Electric Power planned Sunday to inject water-absorbing polymer into a cracked concrete enclosure near the reactor 2 water intake at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in an effort to stop radioactive water from leaking into the ocean. Yesterday, pouring concrete into the concrete enclosure, which carries electric cables, failed to seal the crack.
TEPCO said it had not found water leaking from the concrete enclosures at other reactors, the Japan Atomic Industrial Forum reported.
Following detection of the reactor 2 leak, the power company began testing radiation levels in sea water 15 kilometers (about 9.5 miles) from the facility.
A U.S. Navy barge has begun supplying fresh water as injection continues to cool reactors 1, 2, and 3. TEPCO is using a motor-driven pump powered by an off-site transmission line. A second barge with more fresh water has arrived at the site. Electric power has been restored to lighting in the turbine buildings of reactors 1, 2, and 3.
Radiation Measurements
After consultations with nuclear experts from the United States, TEPCO has begun to measure radiation levels inside the nuclear power plant’s 20-kilometer (12.5 mile) evacuation zone. Measurements have been taken routinely outside the zone, but TEPCO has been reluctant to conduct tests closer to the plant because of anticipated radiation exposure to workers taking those measurements.
Radiation levels off site and at the site boundary are generally decreasing, although localized areas with elevated levels are being identified for further analysis. Protective action recommendations for food and water are gradually being lifted in many locations, but some remain pending further analysis.
The government is looking carefully at how and when to allow evacuees to return to their homes.The situation remains difficult for evacuees, especially the elderly and ill among them, but the government is escalating efforts to accommodate those who have evacuated.
The government is monitoring children up to 15 years old in some prefectures for possible iodine-131 exposure. Based on preliminary results, iodine-131 has not been found at levels that exceed action levels, and in many areas there has been no exposure.
Missing Workers Found
Tokyo Electric Power Co. has confirmed that two company employees who had been missing since the tsunami occurred on March 11 were found dead March 30 in the basement of the turbine building of reactor 4.
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