Japanese engineers are racing to restore a power cable to the quake-ravaged Fukushima nuclear power plant in the hope of restarting pumps needed to pour cold water on overheating fuel rods and avert a catastrophic release of radiation.
Even if the engineers manage to connect the power, it is not clear the pumps will work as they may have been damaged in the earthquake or subsequent explosions and there are real fears of the electricity shorting and causing another explosion.
Officials will also continue water-bombing in the hope of bringing radiation emissions under control.
Australia is among a number of countries expressing growing alarm about radiation leaking from the plant, about 240 kilometres north of Tokyo, which was severely damaged by a magnitude-9 earthquake and tsunami a week ago.
The disaster triggered a series of destructive explosions, compromising the nuclear reactors and depleting fuel storage tanks.
Authorities are also hoping they will be able to reconnect electricity supplies to the Fukushima plant by the weekend, meaning they can restore pumps and cooling systems that would lessen the chance of further radiation leaks.
Yesterday, helicopters and fire trucks were used to douse the No. 3 and No. 4 reactors with water.
It is believed fuel rods stored in a spent fuel pond have started to heat up after cooling systems broke down.
"Preparatory work has so far not progressed as fast as we had hoped," an official of plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) told a news briefing, adding that engineers had to be constantly checked for radiation levels.
Radiation readings at the troubled nuclear plant have consistently followed a downward path through Friday morning, according to measurements by Japan's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency.
The agency said the radiation reading at 5:00am (local time) came to 279.4 microsievert per hour, compared with 292.2 microsievert per hour at 8:40pm Thursday, shortly after the self-defence forces discharged water from fire trucks.
US president Barack Obama said the crisis posed no risk to any US territory but ordered a comprehensive review of domestic nuclear plants.
Yukiya Amano, head of the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), was due back in his homeland later Friday with an international team of experts after earlier complaining about a lack of information from Japan.
This afternoon Japanese police said 6,405 people were now confirmed dead and more than 10,000 were missing
Twelve Australians are currently unaccounted for.
- ABC/wires
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