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Water sprayed onto reactor No.3
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After a week battling against a nuclear meltdown at the Fukushima power station, the situation appears to be coming under control. The unstable and problematic reactor has been flooded with seawater which has stabilized the situation.
Reactor NO.3, widely considered the most dangerous at the ravaged Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear complex after last Friday's quake and tsunami overwhelmed its cooling systems.
Emergency crews continued their efforts to cool the reactors and fuel storage pools by spraying seawater into it. Tons of water came directly from the ocean.
Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said the situation at the nuclear complex remains unpredictable, but that the action being taken is preventing things from getting worse.
Yukio Edano, Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary, said, "We think that we have succeeded in capturing a certain amount of water injection into the Number 3 reactor and it has now stabilized the situation. But we will stay cautious and continue to inject water into the Number 3 and Number 4 reactors to stabilize them and to make efforts to improve their condition."
Elsewhere other teams scrambled to connect the reactors to a new power line.
Engineers attached a power cable to the outside of the facility in a desperate attempt to get water pumps going. They hope it can cool down overheated fuel rods and prevent a deadly spread of radiation.
Also on Saturday, contamination was found in some foods. Japan reported elevated radiation levels in spinach and milk from farms near the stricken Fukushima nuclear complex.
Yukio Edano, Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary, said, "We received reports that the figures went beyond the regulated standard of (radiation material) residue in the sample of milk produced in Fukushima and spinach produced in Ibaraki."
But Edano said the products pose no immediate health risk and that more testing is being done. He added if tests show further contamination, food shipments would be halted from the area.
The International Atomic Energy Agency says radiation at the damaged plant has stabilized at "significantly higher" levels than normal, but these were still in a range allowing onsite recovery measures.
The UN nuclear watchdog also says the Japanese authorities have successfully completed the evacuation of people from a 20-kilometer zone around the stricken plant. People within a 30 kilometer area have been advised to stay indoors.
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