Radiation levels drop in Japan troubled reactor

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RIA Novosti, PUBLISHED May 08, 2011

Radiation levels have dropped inside the No. 1 reactor building at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, Kyodo news agency reported on Saturday.

The plant's operator, Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO), said the drop was due to a ventilator installed in the building on Thursday to filter out radioactive substances.

Workers would soon be able to reenter the site to stabilize the reactor, the company said.

As soon as radiation drops to permissible levels, specialists will attempt to restart the reactor's cooling system, knocked out by a powerful earthquake and tsunami on March 11.

TEPCO earlier said it expects radioactivity levels at the plant to stabilize within six to nine months.

The natural disaster in northeast Japan in March left more than 25,000 people dead or missing. Thousands more were forced to evacuate their homes in the ensuing nuclear disaster.

Topics: NPP Fukushima Daiichi

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