Efforts on to restore power at N-plant new quakes rock Japan

Japanese workers scrambled hard today to restore power at the troubled Fukushima nuclear plant as smoke rose from two of its reactors in the tsunami-hit northeast, which was jolted by a series of new powerful quakes, including two measuring 6.6 on the Richter Scale.

Authorities sought the help of the US military in tackling the "extremely tough" situation at the plant, close to which highly concentrated radioactivity was detected in iodine and cesium in seawater, sparking fears about food safety.

The nuclear plant's operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), said the seawater pollution in the region had expanded, but the country's nuclear safety agency said there were no immediate health threats.

The amount of radioactive iodine reached 80.3-fold of the standard level at the point 8 km south of the plant and 16.4-fold at the point 16 km south, Kyodo news agency reported.

The Fukushima prefectural government denied the possibility that seafood from the area was distributed to markets saying fishing had not been conducted near the nuclear plant, where emergency workers battled to avert a widespread disaster by trying to reconnect power lines and cool overheating reactors.

The critical restoration work at the plant was stalled yesterday after smoke rose from No.2 and No.3 reactors, fuelling fears of fresh radiation leaks from the area rocked by the March 11 quake of magnitude 9 and devastating tsunami that left over 22,000 people dead or unaccounted for in Japan's northeast.

Although white smoke, possibly steam, was still found to be billowing from the No.2 and No.3 reactors, TEPCO said it was not obstructing electricity restoration work.

Firefighters and the Self-Defense Forces (SDF) personnel were also ready to restart their mission to spray tonnes of coolant water onto spent nuclear fuel pools at the No.3 and No.4 reactors, according to TEPCO.

The US Geological Survey, meanwhile, said that two 6.6-magnitude quakes and one measuring 6.4 on the Richter Scale were reported within two and a half hours off Japan's northeastern Honshu coast, starting from 1248 IST. However, there were no reports of casualties or damage.

Japan's National Police Agency said the number of those killed or were unaccounted for following the devastating March 11 earthquake and tsunami topped 22,000.

It said the death toll reached 9,080 in 12 prefectures, while 13,561 people remained missing in six prefectures.