TOKYO, May 23 (UPI) -- There may be meltdowns of fuel rods in two more reactors at Japan's quake-damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, the plant operator said Tuesday.
Tokyo Electric Power Co., which has confirmed a meltdown at the No. 1 reactor, said similar events may have occurred at the No. 2 and 3 reactors of the six-reactor plant, which was heavily damaged by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.
The utility, however, noted the melted fuel is being kept cool at the bottom of the reactors' pressure vessels, Kyodo News reported. The company has been analyzing data taken shortly after the disaster struck.
Four of the six reactors lost their functions needed to keep the fuel rods cool after the disaster, which set off one of the world's worst nuclear crises resulting in radiation leakage. Utility workers have been working inside the No. 1 reactor to restore its cooling system, with similar work to follow in other reactors.
The utility plans to bring the entire plant under control by the end of this year.
Tokyo Electric, hit by the nuclear crisis, has reported a loss of more than $15 billion for fiscal year ended March 31.
A six-member team of investigators from the International Atomic Energy Agency arrived in Japan Monday to assess the situation at the Fukushima plant, along with experts from about a dozen countries. The investigators will present their findings at a ministerial meeting on nuclear safety to be hosted by the IAEA next month in Vienna.
