perates the plant, denied his report.
TEPCO said Thursday it plans to aim the water cannon at holes that have pierced the nuclear reactor building, and start pumping water into the damaged nuclear plants.
If the new problems at the No. 4 reactor turn out to be true, it could severely hamper workers' efforts to prevent further melting in four of the plant's six nuclear reactors.
The reported problem with the No. 4 reactor wasn't the only new failure Wednesday. Japanese authorities said a crack has appeared in the steel-and-concrete containment vessel of the plant's No. 3 reactor, which now seems to be leaking radioactive steam.
Meanwhile, about 170 workers at the plant, wearing protective suits and rotating in and out of radiation hot spots, frantically tried to prevent further damage to exposed nuclear fuel rods.
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What Went Wrong With Japan's Nuclear Reactors
The International Atomic Energy Agency, which is monitoring the situation, could not confirm the new report about the No. 4 storage pool. But the agency's director-general, Yukiya Amano, acknowledged that "the situation is ... very serious."
Amano, speaking from Vienna at the agency's dail
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Subject: 170 workers 
Thu Mar 17, 2011 2:35 am
