Fukushima nuclear power plant after tsunami

Japanese authorities say a moderately strong earthquake has struck the prefecture in northeastern Japan where workers are struggling to bring a leaking nuclear power plant under control, but there were no immediate reports of damage or injury.

The Magnitude 6.0 temblor hit Fukushima Prefecture shortly after daybreak Wednesday, the meteorological agency said. No tsunami alert was issued. Tokyo Electric Power Co., which operates the troubled Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant, said it has received no reports of damage at the complex due to the quake.
__

Lighting has been restored in the control room of one of the most badly-damaged reactors at Japan's stricken Fukushima nuclear plant, officials say. It is hoped the development will speed up work to restore cooling systems vital for stabilising the reactor.

Meanwhile, the UN's nuclear watchdog says radiation is still leaking from the quake-hit plant, but scientists are unsure exactly where it is coming from.

---

Worry not. While Japan has banned the sale of some produce from the area near the reactors, similar contamination is highly unlikely in the US, as is the import of tainted Japanese food. Spinach from Ibaraki Prefecture is left unsold at the Metropolitan Central Wholesale Market in Tokyo Tuesday. The Japanese government halted shipments of spinach from Ibaraki Prefecture, one of the areas where spinach was found to be tainted with radioactive iodine.

Posted in: world news