Japan’s Nuclear Complex Doused With Water

Emergency workers drenched Japan’s overheating nuclear complex with thousands of gallons of water dropped from helicopters and shot from water cannons on Thursday, but by the end of the day it still wasn’t clear whether the situation was improving—and U.S. officials warned that it was much worse than Japanese officials have let on. Though Tokyo Electric Power Co. said workers were making headway, the top U.S. nuclear-regulatory official warned of high radiation while the U.S. ambassador told Americans within 50 miles from the plant to evacuate or stay indoors. The primary danger now comes from the reactors and spent fuel stored at units 3 and 4. If water evaporates from the pools storing spent fuel rods, they can overheat and emit radiation. TEPCO executives say the used fuel rods are covered with water, but an official with Japan’s nuclear-safety agency was skeptical, saying, "Considering the amount of radiation released in the area, the fuel rods are more likely to be exposed than to be covered.”