he operator of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant says findings show that fuel meltdowns may have occurred at the No.2 and No.3 reactors within days of the March 11th earthquake. But it says both reactors are now stable at relatively low temperatures.
Tokyo Electric Power Company said earlier this month that fuel rods at the plant's No.1 reactor had melted.
The utility says a cooling system failure at the No.2 reactor 3 days after the quake led to a sharp drop in its water level.
Workers tried pumping in water from a fire engine, but the injection wasn't enough and the fuel rods likely became exposed.
Most of the fuel is thought to have melted down and collected at the bottom of the reactor pressure vessel by 8 PM on March 15th. That's about 101 hours, or 4 days, after the earthquake.
At the No.3 reactor, TEPCO says the fuel could have reached a state of meltdown at around 3 AM on March 14th, about 60 hours after the quake.
However, TEPCO says there is still a chance the damage to the fuel rods is limited.
It says if the water gauges inside the 2 reactors are accurate, their readings show there were sufficient levels of water in the pressure vessels to prevent a total meltdown.
Tuesday, May 24, 2011 11:38 +0900 (JST)
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