Japan’s Fukushima plant making progress to contain damage: IAEA head via New York Post

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Last Updated: 8:59 AM, July 25, 2011

Posted: 8:33 AM, July 25, 2011

TOKYO — The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency said Monday that Japan’s tsunami-hit nuclear plant is steadily making progress to contain damage from the crisis.

IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano said he is optimistic that workers at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant could bring the radiation leaking reactors under control by early next year as planned.

“I observed the sites directly and I believe efforts to contain the damage are steadily making progress,” Amano told reporters. “So many workers are tackling the problems enthusiastically. I think the outlook of resolving the crisis is bright.”

Amano’s visit to the plant Monday was his first since the crisis following the March 11 earthquake and tsunami that destroyed power and cooling systems. The accident caused the reactor cores to mostly melt down and leak massive amount of radiation into the environment.

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