Typhoon pounds Japan, heads for crippled nuclear plant

[phantom power]

Tokyo Electric, the operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant 240 km northeast of Tokyo that was crippled by a massive earthquake and tsunami in March, said the typhoon has so far caused no damage to the plant.

"The biggest element of concern is the rise of (radioactive) water levels in turbine buildings," Junichi Matsumoto, a Tokyo Electric official, told a news conference.

The site still has huge amounts of water that was used to cool reactors where fuel meltdowns took place after cooling systems were knocked out by the March disaster, raising concerns that heavy rain could cause overflows of radioactive water into the sea and groundwater.

"We expect to be able to withstand (an overflow) even if water levels rise suddenly," Matsumoto said.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/09/21/japan-typhoon-idUSL3E7KL1AR20110921?rpc=401