Washington: US has dispatched eight more
nuclear experts to Tokyo to assist the Japanese authorities in their effort to handle the crisis after several of the nation's nuclear power plants have been damaged following last
week's massive earthquake.
The members of the team left the US yesterday and were
due to arrive in Tokyo today. This is in addition to the two
experts sent earlier, the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission
(NRC) said.
The team is led by Charles A Casto, deputy regional
administrator of the NRC's Center of Construction Inspection,
based in NRC's office in Atlanta.
Casto has worked in the commercial nuclear power
industry at three different nuclear power plants, including
Browns Ferry, which has three boiling water reactors, operated
by the Tennessee Valley Authority in Alabama.
According to the NRC, the team has been instructed to:
conduct all activities needed to understand the status of
efforts to safely shut down the Japanese reactors; better
understand the potential impact on people and the environment
of any radioactivity releases.
If asked, the team has been directed to provide dvice and support through the US ambassador for the
Japanese government's decision making process; and draw on
NRC-headquarters expertise for any other additional technical
requirements.
Hundreds of bodies were found scattered across the
north-eastern coastline in Japan bringing alive the horror of
Friday's massive earthquake of 9.0 magnitude and tsunami in
which 10,000 people have been estimated to have perished.
PTI
First Published: Tuesday, March 15, 2011, 10:11