Japanese authorities have informed the International Atomic Energy Agency that engineers were able to finally connect one of the reactors (Reactor 2 of the Fukushima nuclear power plant) to an external source of electricity.
Tepco had been trying to connect the power line yesterday, but radiation risks postponed the work.
The new power line means that they will most likely be able to cool down the core of the reactor before it melts. Tepco already had resorted to cooling reactors 1, 2, and 3 with seawater, including dropping several loads of water from a helicopter, insufficient though to successfully reduce the reactor's core temperature.
Due next for a connection is reactor 3, which suffered a previous explosion of its own and which is fueled by a more hazardous combination of uranium and plutonium oxide.
The good news is waited by all of us, as winds will eventually bring the radiation all over the world. It is only a matter of time for the radiation clouds to reach all continents. We can only hope that the situation remains under control and the radiation stays within reasonable limits.
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