Japan: Growing Nuclear Problems

More trouble, according to the Washington Post:

All but about 50 workers were evacuated from the plant, where at least three reactor cores are believed to be imperiled, and Prime Minister Naoto Kan hailed those who remained, saying they “are putting themselves in a very dangerous situation.”

Explosions destroyed the tops of two buildings housing reactors at the plant, one on Saturday and another on Monday. An explosion Tuesday in another reactor, unit 2, “may have affected the integrity of the primary containment vessel,” the International Atomic Energy Agency reported.

A fire burned for two hours Tuesday in the pool containing spent nuclear fuel rods at the unit 4 reactor. News services quoted a government official as saying the pool could still be near the boiling point.

Let’s hope that they can bring all of this under control.  But it won’t be easy.

Breaking news from the Washington Post:

Japanese officials say fire has broken out again at the stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.The blaze erupted early Wednesday local time in the outer housing of the reactor’s containment vessel, utility officials said. Firefighters are trying to put out the flames.