Japan nuclear crisis a 'race against time'—IAEA chief (now in Tokyo)

[jpak]

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/world/view/20110318-326287/Japan-nuclear-crisis-a-race-against-timeIAEA-chief

TOKYO—UN International Atomic Energy Agency chief Yukiya Amano said Friday that Japan's battle to stabilize a crippled nuclear power plant was "a race against time".

Speaking in Tokyo, 250 kilometres (155 miles) away from the stricken Fukushima Number One plant, Amano also said the IAEA had brought its own monitoring equipment to test for radiation levels in the Japanese capital.

"This is a very grave and serious accident," he said after meeting Prime Minister Naoto Kan, referring to the explosions and fires that have hit the plant where workers were using fire engines to douse overheating fuel rods.

"So it is important that the international community, including the IAEA, handles this jointly," Amano told reporters. "Especially cooling (the reactors) is extremely important, so I think it is a race against time."

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[rbixby]

1. Where is Hans Blix?

He had such a heroic sounding name.

[GliderGuider]

2. Didn't he get dropped into a shark tank by Kim Jong-Il a few years back??? n/t