Firemen start cooling of 3rd reactor of Fukushima-1

TOKYO, March 19 (Itar-Tass) -- Firemen have begun to cool the third
reactor of the Fukushima-1 NPP with the help of water cannons. The water
pouring operation is expected to go on for seven hours without
interruptions, said the commanders of a special elite team of the Tokyo
Fire-Fighting Department, which is working in the area of the NPP.
The team has special water cannons, which can eject three to five tons
of water per minute, as well as powerful pumps, which are pumping water
from the ocean. The machines are working in the automatic regime. The
operators are in the shelter already.
A total of 90 tons of water were poured over the third reactor on
Friday night. "None of the firemen got a dangerous radiation dose during
the operation," said a representative of the Fire-Fighting Department.
The special team is made up of 138 top-class specialists, who were
trained to work in conditions of the use of nuclear weapons. They have
experience of the liquidation of consequences of natural calamities,
including the devastating earthquake in New Zealand.