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Grey smoke rising from Unit 3 of the Fukushima plant yesterday.
Image: AP Photo/Tokyo Electric Power Co
Grey smoke rising from Unit 3 of the Fukushima plant yesterday.
Image: AP Photo/Tokyo Electric Power Co
POWER CABLES HAVE BEEN reconnected to each of the six reactors at the Fukushima nuclear power plant, according to plant operator TEPCO.
However, further work is required before the cooling pumps can be brought back into action.
Workers have to carry out checks on all of the relevant equipment before allowing power to flow back into the pumps in all of the six units.
Restoring power to the pumps would be a significant step forward for the plant, where authorities have struggled to prevent a meltdown since power was cut during the earthquake and tsunami on Friday, 11 March.
Japan’s Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency (NISA) said today that workers are still pouring seawater into some of the reactors to help prevent them from overheating.
NISA also says that one of the reactors, Number 5, has been connected to external power since yesterday.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) says that authorities will measure the marine environment near the plant for radioactivity today and tomorrow, and the results of those tests are expected by Thursday.
- Additional reporting by the AP
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