Japan reactor nuclear core may have breached

TOKYO: Japanese nuclear safety officials said Friday they suspect that the heart of the reactor to a unit of the plant in trouble Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear energy can be breached, raising the possibility of contamination worse for the environment.

"It is possible that somewhere in the reactor may have been damaged," said Hidehiko Nishiyama, a spokesman for the agency's nuclear safety. But he added that "our data suggest the reactor retains some functions of containment," which implies that the damage may have occurred in the Unit 3 reactor core, but it was limited.

Officials say the damage could rather happened in other equipment, including piping, or the spent fuel pool.

Operators have struggled to keep water cool around radioactive fuel rods in the reactor core after March 11 earthquake and tsunami off the power supply to the plant and its cooling system.

The damage could have been done to the soul when a hydrogen explosion blew out March 14th Construction Unit 3 outdoor confinement.

This reactor, perhaps the most troubled on the site of six homes, holds 170 tonnes of radioactive fuel in its core. Previous radioactive emissions came from deliberate efforts to remove small amounts of water vapor in the valve core to prevent splitting. However, discharges of a violation could lead to uncontrolled amounts of radioactive substances from escaping into the surrounding soil or air.

Operators stopped work Friday 1-3 units to check radiation levels.