Reply #8: US rushes freshwater to help Japan nuclear plant [View All]

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP

By ERIC TALMADGE and MARI YAMAGUCHI

SENDAI, Japan (AP) - U.S. naval barges loaded with freshwater sped toward Japan's overheated nuclear plant on Saturday to help workers struggling to stem a worrying rise in radioactivity and remove dangerously contaminated water from the facility.

Workers at the stricken Fukushima Dai-ichi plant have been using seawater in a frantic bid to stabilize reactors overheating since a tsunami knocked out the complex's crucial cooling system March 11, but fears are mounting about the corrosive nature of the salt in the water.

Plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. is now rushing to inject the reactors with freshwater instead to prevent pipes from clogging and to begin extracting the radioactive water, Hidehiko Nishiyama of Japan's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency said Saturday.

The situation at the stricken plant remains unpredictable, government spokesman Yukio Edano said Saturday, adding that it would be "a long time" until the crisis is over.

Read more: http://apnews.excite.com/article/20110326/D9M6RFV80.html

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U.S. Navy's barge YOGN-115, back, is towed by Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force's multi purpose support ship off the coast of Isumi, Chiba Prefecture, Japan, Saturday, March 26, 2011. The barge carrying 1.04 million liters (275,000 gallons) of fresh water departed Commander, Fleet Activities Yokosuka (CFAY) Friday to support cooling efforts at the tsunami-damaged Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant. (AP Photo/Yomiuri Shimbun, Yasushi Kanno) JAPAN OUT, MANDATORY CREDIT