More work remains to stabilize Japan’s nuclear crisis
Officials from Tokyo Electric Power Co. said on Tuesday that power lines have been connected to all six reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi plant, restoring electricity and marking significant progress in the effort by nuclear technicians and workers to prevent a full scale meltdown. But there is still much more work that remains in order to stabilize the situation, including the venting of nuclear gas and replacing reactor equipment that was damaged by the earthquake or by the dumping of water meant to keep fuel rods cool. Also, temperatures rose to a boiling point in one of the storage pools, causing radioactive steam to waft from the plant. The Japanese government has begun testing seafood after seawater from the plant was showing elevated radiation levels, and the World Health Organization has raised concerns over worsening contamination levels in food and water. The U.S. is considering the withdrawal of its large military presence out of Japan in a mass evacuation.