Japan: Meltdown 'Unlikely'

UPI reports:

Spent fuel rods in a reactor in Japan's quake-hit nuclear plant may be damaged but an official Tuesday ruled out a meltdown with the ongoing cooling effort.

Tokyo Electric Power, operator of the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant, has for the first time since the March 11 earthquake and tsunami said the spent fuel rods in the No. 2 reactor may have been damaged, Kyodo News reported.

However, Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano told reporters the reactor will not suffer a total meltdown if the current cooling of the reactors continues.

"If we can continue this cooling, such a thing is unlikely," Edano said.

Besides the No. 2 reactor, latest readings taken by U.S.-made robots in and around the No. 1 and No. 3 reactor buildings have shown high levels of radiation, preventing workers from entering those facilities.

The New York Times reported these problems could further challenge the utility's plan to stabilize or bring about a cold shutdown of the plant by year's end.

The report said workers have not been able to enter some of plant's reactor buildings as the March 11 disaster knocked out their cooling systems and hydrogen explosions blew away the roofs, causing the spread of radioactive materials.

"It is a harsh environment for humans to work in," said nuclear safety agency spokesman Hidehiko Nishiyama.