IAEA chief in quake-hit Japan amid rising death toll

TOKYO. March 18. KAZINFORM Chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Yukiya Amano, arrived in Japan on Friday to check the worsening nuclear crisis in Fukushima, as the death toll of the March 11 powerful earthquake and ensuing tsunami rose in the country amid a grave nuclear leak threat; Kazinform refers to Xinhua.

Amano said he would see the situation himself and gather detailed information from the Japanese authorities to learn how the IAEA could best help.

Amano was expected to make a short stay in his home country before he returning to Vienna to discuss Japan with the 35-nation IAEA board of governors.

Japan's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency said Friday that radiation has seen a steady decline near the damaged Fukushima No.1 nuclear power plant following water-dousing measures taken Thursday.

According to Measurements taken by the agency around 1.1 km west of the plant's No.2 reactor, hourly radiation dose stood at 279.4 microsievert at 5 a.m. Friday, down from 309 and 292 microsievert around the time when the Self-Defense Forces (SDF) shot water at the reactor to cool down the overheating spent fuel storage pool.

Agency officials said that they will work to restore electricity for No.1 and No.2 reactors Friday, and for No. 3, No.4 reactors Sunday, to chill down the malfunctioned reactors and overheating storage pools.

The storage pools at the power station lost their cooling function after the colossal quake and tsunami hit northeastern and eastern Japan. It is also no longer possible to monitor the water level and temperature of the pools of the four reactors; Kazinform cites Xinhua.

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