A small crew of technicians, braving radiation and fire, became the only people remaining at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station on Tuesday — and perhaps Japan’s last chance of preventing a broader nuclear catastrophe.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/16/world/asia/16workers.html?_r=1
BREAKING NEWS
5:25am UK, Wednesday March 16, 2011
Staff Evacuated From Japanese Nuclear Plant
Plant Evaluated During Steam Release:
The decision comes after a second fire broke out in number 4 reactor after a prior blaze had not been properly extinguished.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said the workers dousing the reactors in a frantic effort to cool them needed to withdraw.
"The workers cannot carry out even minimal work at the plant now," Edano said.
The latest fire is believed to have started in the outer housing of the reactor's containment vessel.
The flames were brought under control but white smoke or steam has been seen rising from the facility in the northeast of the earthquake and tsunami devastated country.
Officials have been struggling to address the failure of safety systems at several of the plant's reactors.
NYT - How a Reactor Shuts Down and What Happens in a Meltdown!
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2011/03/12/world/asia/the-explosion-at-the-japanese-reactor.html?ref=asia
Videos: Japan’s Natural and Nuclear Disasters
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/world/asia/Japan-Video-Grid.html?ref=asia
