HTH -- Haiti Earthquake

March 22, 2011. Work resumes on cooling troubled nuclear plant in Japan

SOURCE: Altegrity Risk International

Officials resumed on March 22nd to restore electrical power to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant and cool its overheating reactors, which were damaged by the March 11th 9.0-magnitude earthquake and tsunami, reports indicated. Work was interrupted twice in 24 hours after steam and smoke emitted from reactors number 2 and 3, leading to a brief spike in radiation levels. Although power cables were reattached to various reactors, officials said they were not in a position to get enough power to start cooling systems.

The death toll from the earthquake and tsunami rose to more than 9,000 people, with 12,645 others missing. More than 350,000 people remained in evacuation centers in northern and eastern Japan, while others lived with friends and family. Fuel and food shortages, as well as icy rains and power cuts, impacted rescue efforts in northeastern Japan, with bad weather grounding helicopters. Electricity rationing continued throughout much of Japan on March 22nd, with the country using some 92% of its generating capacity. Fuel was also rationed due to shortages, although the government loosened stockpiling requirements.

In related news, the Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco) pledged on March 21st that it would compensate farmers for losses caused by the nuclear radiation from its Fukushima Daiichi plant, reports indicated. The Japanese government banned all shipments of leaf vegetables, spinach, and milk from the area surrounding the Fukushima power plant. Japanese officials, however, said that the health risks from radiated crops was limited. The World Health Organization (WHO), meanwhile, said that the radiation impact was worse than first thought.