IBTimes.com

Fuel of the Fukushima nuke plant plant's No. 1 reactor could be melting, an official said on Wednesday at Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) , the operator of the crippled plant. 

TEPCO said last week some of the spent nuclear fuel rods stored in the No. 4 reactor building of the Fukushima Daiichi power plant were damaged.

The company's workers have put iRobot PackBots to measure radiation, oxygen and temperature inside the reactor.

TEPCO announced plans on Monday to take about 10,000 cubic meters of contaminated water from the reactor unit 2, and move it to a treatment plant that will be built on site.

The company said there is somewhat less radioactive water in the tunnel linked to one of the reactors, amounting to 210 metric tons of water, according to broadcaster NHK.

According to the report the water level in a tunnel that holds piping and wiring for the reactor building is seven centimeters lower, indicating that removing it is showing some success.

TEPCO is striving to stop radiation leaking from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi plant and to remain solvent in the face of mounting compensation and decommissioning costs.

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