Clearing the Air at Fukushima

Installing an air purifier is not a big deal, unless the location is inside a building that houses a reactor at the Fukushima Dai-ichi power plant in Japan. Inside Unit 1, radiation levels are still through the roof.

A representative with the Tokyo Electric Power Company says the purifier will eliminate 95 percent of the radioactivity; allowing crews to enter the building and begin work on restoring the cooling systems, which was heavily damaged during the March earthquake and tsunami.



The company said it had begun constructing special tents at the entrance toturbine buildings so workers can move in and out. It is also installing fans with filters at the No.1 reactor to reduce radiation inside to one-twentieth of current levels within days.

"We want to suck out the air in the building and use the filter to remove radiation from the dust," TEPCO spokesman Junichi Matsumoto told reporters.

Tokyo Electric Power (TEPCO) has said it may take the rest of the year to bring the nuclear plant back under control.

Source: scientificamerican.com