Monday Mid-Afternoon Update

From NEI’s Japan Earthquake launch page:

UPDATE AS OF 1:30 P.M. EDT, MONDAY, MARCH 21:

Fukushima Daiichi
Workers were making progress Monday to bring off-site power to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. External electricity has been connected to reactor 2, and work continued to energize the reactor's cooling systems. Reactors 5 and 6, and the used fuel pools at those reactors, were switched from backup diesel generators to the off-site power supply. Work also continued to establish electric service to reactors 3 and 4.

Spraying seawater into the spent fuel pools of reactors 3 and 4 and providing additional cooling water to fuel pool at reactor 2 continue to be a priority for TEPCO's recovery workers. Water spraying at the Daiichi site's common used fuel pool began Monday morning, the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency said.

Nuclear Regulatory Commission Briefing

Bill Borchardt, the executive director for operations at the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, briefed the agency's commissioners Monday on the NRC's response to the Fukushima accident in Japan. Slides and prepared remarks are available on the NRC website.

"We have a responsibility to the American people to undertake a systematic and methodical review of the safety of our own domestic nuclear facilities, in light of the natural disaster and the resulting nuclear emergency in Japan," NRC Chairman Gregory Jaczko said at the briefing. "Beginning to examine all available information is an essential part of our effort to analyze the event and understand its impact on Japan and the implications for the United States."

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