-- Fukushima news penetrated mainstream US media this weekend, well slightly. This news story appeared in one of Wall Street Journal's blog online:

Fukushima Daiichi’s Unit 4 Spent-Fuel Pool Up Close

"Tokyo Electric Power Co. is pulling out the stops to show a skeptical world that the troubled reactors at Fukushima Daiichi — and in particular the “spent-fuel pool” atop reactor Unit 4 — won’t collapse and spill out radioactive fuel during the next big earthquake. On Saturday, Tepco let a bunch of journalists, as well as Goshi Hosono, the minister in charge of Fukushima Daiichi cleanup, into the Unit 4 building to take a look for themselves."

Cryptome also has photos posted of the tour Tepco gave on Saturday.

"Mr. Hosono added he’d instructed Tepco to thoroughly check out a three centimeter bulge in the west wall of the building, which Tepco thinks was likely caused by last year’s explosion. Next week, the government and Tepco are meeting to discuss whether they could get the fuel out of the Unit 4 pool faster, he said."

Today, Tepco is removing 2 fuel assemblies from Reactor 4. While they are giving reassuring tours and statements that there is nothing to worry about, getting the spent fuel rods out of Reactor 4 as fast as possible is imperative. -- JB, Managing Editor

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