An IAEA expert team will also be sent to Japan as soon as possible Situation in Japan's earthquake- damaged nuclear power plant is "very serious," Yukiya Amano, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), told the press on Wednesday.
He also expressed his wish to fly personally to Japan, " hopefully tomorrow" to assess the situation and talk to high-level Japanese officials. An IAEA expert team will also be sent to Japan as soon as possible, he said. Earlier, an IAEA statement said Japanese officials voiced concerns about the condition of the spent nuclear fuel pool of Unit 3 and Unit 4 at Fukushima No.1 nuclear power plant.
The statement said Japanese Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa announced Wednesday that Special Defense Forces helicopters planned to drop water onto Unit 3, and officials are also preparing to spray water into Unit 4 from ground positions, and possibly later into Unit 3. Some debris on the ground from the March 14 explosion at Unit 3 may need to be removed before the spraying can begin.
(Xinhua News Agency May 17, 2011)
