Originally posted by the Voice of America.
Voice of America content is produced by the Voice of America,
a United States federal government-sponsored entity, and is in
the public domain.


Workers Re-enter Japanese Reactor Building for First Time

   VOA News  May 05, 2011

   Japanese officials say workers Thursday entered the number one reactor
   building at the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant for the first time
   since an explosion tore the roof off the building almost two months
   ago.
   Officials with the Tokyo Electric Power Company said a total of 12
   workers were tasked with setting up a ventilating system to reduce
   radiation levels in the air inside the building. That will enable
   workers to go back later this month to work on repairing the reactor's
   crucial cooling systems that were damaged by the March 11 earthquake
   and tsunami.
   TEPCO said the workers are equipped with protective suits, masks and
   air tanks, and are working in groups of four. No individual was to
   spend more than 10 minutes inside the building.
   The company said the workers were seeking to connect eight pipes that
   will carry air from inside the building to a ventilator that has
   already been installed in an adjacent turbine building.
   If the operation is successful, TEPCO hopes to begin work on May 16 to
   rebuild the water circulation system that keeps the reactor's fuel rods
   from overheating. For weeks, temporary systems including fire hoses
   have been used to keep the rods cool.
   Radiation has been leaking from the plant since the March 11 earthquake
   and tsunami damaged cooling systems at all six of the plant's reactors.
   Elevated radiation levels have been detected in the soil, sea water,
   fish and agricultural products for kilometers around the plant. Tens of
   thousands of people have been evacuated.

   Some information for this report was provided by AFP and Reuters.

.