March 16, 2011|By Mark Magnier, Barbara Demick and Laura King, Times Staff Writers A new power line that could restore the electric cooling systems at Japan's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant is nearing completion, its operator said Thursday, as international concern mounted over the crisis.
FOR THE RECORD: Atomic agency official: An earlier version of the article incorrectly spelled the first name of Yukiya Amano, chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency, as Yukio.
The new line to the nuclear complex, 150 miles north of Tokyo, would revive electric-powered pumps, allowing officials to maintain a steady water supply to troubled reactors and spent fuel pools, Tokyo Electric Power Co. spokesman Naoki Tsunoda was quoted as saying by the Associated Press.
Officials plan to try it "as soon as possible" but he could not say when. The company is also trying to repair its existing power line.
Photos: Earthquake and nuclear crisis in Japan
Last week's earthquake and tsunami knocked out power to the cooling systems, triggering a series of breakdowns and missteps that exposed fuel rods to the air at one reactor and released dangerous levels of radiation outside the plant.
Japan's government has asked people living within 12 miles of the Fukushima plant to evacuate and those between 12 and 18 miles to stay indoors.
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Wednesday urged Americans in Japan to move at least 50 miles away from the Fukushima Daiichi (No. 1) plant.
The NRC recommendations were based on the status of the reactors, the wind speeds and other local conditions, though NRC spokesman Scott Burnell said the agency did not have onsite readings from the plant. Rather, the projections were based on well-established guidelines that the NRC uses, he said.
A computerized projection provided by the NRC indicates that a wide range of radiation doses can be expected at various distances from the plant, though not necessarily at a dwindling level as a person moved away from the plant.
The projections were based on a nuclear accident at a plant with four reactors, which is how many reactors are believed to be malfunctioning at Fukushima. The NRC projects that at a half mile, a person would receive a dose of 5,400 rem, a massive exposure that would be fatal within days. But even at a distance of 50 miles, the agency projects an exposure of 10 millirem, an amount more than 16 times the average American annual exposure of 0.62 rem.
