Fukushima Workers Re-enter Reactor for First Time
For the first time since the earthquake on March 11th, workers have entered a damaged reactor building at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station. The Tokyo Electric Power Company has informed multiple outlets that workers are installing a radiation-lowering ventilation system in Unit 1 and, if all goes well, will then install cooling systems to stabilize the overheated reactor.
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In mid-April, packbot robots were dispatched inside the reactor building, finding high radiation levels that humans couldn't "realistically enter." Newer readings from the robots (made by the same company as the Roomba vacuum cleaner) found lower levels of radiation. TEPCO then determined that conditions were "safe enough" for humans. "If the ventilator works as planned, workers should be able to enter the rest of the building within three days," the power company relayed to The New York Times.
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Photo by Reuters
