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March 22, 2011

Storage PooliIn Japan Nuclear Facility Nears Boiling Point 
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Japanese officials say a fuel storage pool at the crippled Fukushima
Daiichi nuclear power station is at, or near, boiling point. The storage
pool is holding 2,000 tons of spent nuclear fuel rods. If the pool
begins to boil, more radioactive steam could spew out. Authorities
announced earlier today success in hooking up power lines to all six
reactor units at the plant. The Economist magazine is estimating the
Japanese earthquake and tsunami has caused $235 billion in damage, or
around 4 percent of Japan's GDP. This would make it the world's most
expensive disaster since records began.



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