Japan: over 15,000 dead or missing, water dumped to fight nuclear reactor crisis

Japan: over 15,000 dead or missing, water dumped to fight nuclear reactor crisis

2011-03-17 21:46:09 GMT+7 (ICT)

TOKYO (BNO NEWS) -- Japanese Self-Defense Forces (SDF) fire trucks and choppers on Thursday worked to cool down nuclear reactors by dumping and shooting water into the reactors while search and rescue teams expand their working areas seven days after the massive earthquake, local media reported.

According to Japan's National Police Agency, over 15,000 people have died or are unaccounted for with over 5,400 confirmed deaths and nearly 9,500 people missing. Roughly 380,000 survivors are currently at 2,000 shelters in eight prefectures.

Since last Friday's devastating earthquake and tsunami, Japan has also been struggling with a nuclear crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 power plant, and on Thursday, ground SDF choppers dropped seawater in a 7,500-liter bag four times each in the morning on the No. 3 reactor, Japan's Kyodo news agency reported.

Shortly after, six SDF fire trucks and one Metropolitan Police Department water cannon truck shot high-pressured water in an effort to cool down the reactors, as Hidehiko Nishiyama, a spokesman of the government's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency explained that the highest priority now is to pour adequate water onto the No. 3 and No. 4 reactors, especially in their spent fuel pools.

Despite the efforts, Tokyo Electric Power Co. said that the radiation level remained unchanged at the nuclear plant afterward.

The spent fuel pools at the power station lost their cooling function after the quake, and it is now impossible to monitor the water level and temperature of the pools of the No. 1 to 4 units.

According to experts, in the worst case scenario, rising water temperatures causes water to be reduced and the spent nuclear fuel rods become exposed, which could continue to heat up, melt, and discharge highly intense radioactive materials.

Japan set the evacuation zone for areas within a 20 kilometer (12.4 miles) radius of the plant, and urged people within 20 to 30 kilometers (12.4 to 18.6 miles) to stay indoors. However, the U.S. Embassy in Japan on Thursday asked American citizens living within an 80-kilometer (50-mile) radius to evacuate as a precautionary measure.

Meanwhile, access to affected areas have been improved after relief teams have been able to remove debris and rubble. Search teams have gradually expanded their working areas as SDF have been able to build roads to access further areas. However, fuel shortages are limiting the use of heavy machinery.

The shortages are also hampering the delivery of relief supplies to shelters, as well as the use of heating appliances as mid-winter temperatures drop.

The tsunami covered the Sendai Airport, but it has begun using part of its runways for police and SDF airplanes to transport relief materials. Commercial flights have not been announced.

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