continued to try to fill

Radiation levels were spiking and fluctuating by the hour at Japan's crippled nuclear power plant in Fukushima, complicating efforts by several dozen remaining workers to gain control over damaged reactors.

The workers temporarily pulled back from at least one reactor at the Fukushima Daiichi plant early Wednesday. The move came as smoke billowed from the No. 3 reactor. Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary, Yukio Edano, said they had no choice but to pull back from the most dangerous areas. "The workers cannot carry out even minimal work at the plant now," he said. Workers had been dousing the reactors with seawater in a frantic effort to stabilize their temperatures.

Edano said nuclear safety officials were concerned about possible problems with the No. 3 reactor's containment vessel. An early morning blast the previous morning may already have damaged the containment vessel surrounding the neighboring No. 2 reactor.

Meanwhile, efforts also continued to try to fill and cool a storage pool used to hold spent nuclear fuel at reactor No. 4. Edano said officials were still trying to decide the best course of action, and that simply adding a lot of water quickly could pose risks. A fire also broke out Wednesday at reactor No. 4.

Tokyo Electric Power Co. spokesman Hajimi Motujuku said the blaze erupted early Wednesday in the outer housing of the reactor's containment vessel. It wasn't clear if the second fire at reactor No. 4 in as many days was new, or if the first fire wasn't fully extinguished. Firefighters are trying to put out the flames. Japan's nuclear safety agency also confirmed the fire, whose cause was not immediately known.
HERBAL VAPORIZERS
carbonless paper