"nuclear watch" brings you insight and information on the impact of the fukushima daiichi crisis. and "the road ahead" examines japan's efforts to recover and rebuild. don't miss "nuclear watch" and "the road ahead" on "newsline." >>> now let's look at the market figures. >>> a good crowd on hand at the nagoya on this national holiday. they were looking forward to the highlight match between harumafuji and kotoshogiku. he's had seven straight victories. with an awful ten win 22 loss record. so this was pointing to an upset. but harumafuji puts an end to that thought. using speed and muscle on the double inside grip to force back an opponent who's heavier. harumafuji is a new man this journey after a lackluster couple of years. hakuho sports a 17-0 record against -- who could well become an ozeki himself by the end of the year. this is what you call osumo. the crowd excited as these two mix it up. but hakuho is the undisputed king of the ring and shows you why. he dispatches a tough and dangerous opponent to maintain his undefeated streak. the leader board in the top division shran

the operator of the fukushima daiichi nuclear power plant will boost its efforts to monitor airborne radioactive substances around nuclear reactor buildings. with further measurements, they hope to find the source and prevent further leakage. it's believed that dust containing radioactive substances and contaminated steam leaking from reactors is still being released into the air. tokyo electric power company has been measuring the levels regularly since mid march. recently, however, detection became difficult. this may have been due to the approximate one-kilometer distance between monitoring posts and the reactor buildings. tepco decided to step up its monitoring and take measurements at additional locations near the number one to number four reactor buildings. the plant operator will also use remote controlled robots to measure the level of radioactivity inside reactor buildings. >>> tepco says it needs to inject nitrogen into one of the reactors at fukushima daiichi to prevent a hydrogen explosion, but the work isn't going well. tepco tried to examine the number three reactor bui

"nuclear watch" brings you insight and information on the impact of the fukushima daiichi crisis. and "the road ahead" examines japan's efforts to recover and rebuild. don't miss "nuclear watch" and "the road ahead" on "newsline. >>> and that wraps up this edition of "newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. thanks for joining us.

electric power company on tuesday will announce a revised plan to bring the reactors at the fukushima daiichi plant under control. the yue fillty began operating a system to decontaminate water last month but it's working below the capacity due to leaks and other problems. the rate dropped to 37 tons of water per hour at 1 point, more than 20% below the target capacity. it increased to 39 tons per hour after tepco workers released air from the pipes on friday and replaced a hose connecting the tanks to ease water circulation. however, the rate dropped again to 37 tons per hour on monday morning. the company says the reason for the decrease is unknown. the government and step are expected to say that the first stage of the revised plan is almost completed and is on schedule. >>> the operator of the crippled fukushima daiichi nuclear power plant has built a makeshift roof over a turbine building as typhoon ma-on approaches. tokyo electric power company said on monday that the work to cover a hole in the roof of the plant's number 3 turbine building was completed earlier in the day. the hole was

at the fukushima daiichi plant secondses for covers that contain radioactive materials released from the damaged reactors have begun arriving at the site. the covers will be installed at the number one, three and four reactors. buildings housing these reactors sustained severe damage from hydrogen blasts triggered by the march 11th earthquake and tsunami. pillars, beams and other parts are being pre-assembled at a port 50 kilometers away from the plant. the concrete basis of the structure will be delivered wednesday with more sections arriving in mid-july. the operator of the plant, tokyo electric power company says it hopes to complete assembly work by late september using a crane with a 140-meter long arm. reducing radiation released from the reactor buildings is crucial to getting the crisis under control. this month, tepco will estimate the current amount of radiation released from the reactors, the figures will be used as a reference to gauge the effectiveness of the covers when they're installed. >>> japan's science and technology ministry says tests have found no radioactive s

she's our little ray of light. >>> it's been four months since the fukushima daiichi accident. restrictions on vegetable ipntanother farm products are now being lifted in fukushima prefecture. in karaga, se 250 kilometers away, radioactive substances exceeding the legal limit have been detected in tea leaves odedhe. shims are being restricted, putting pressure on the growers. >> reporter: akitoshi grows tea in ckanagawa prefecture. 500 becquerels is the legal limit. 74we decd in a kilogram of tea leaves grown in his field. none of the have vested leaves could be used.vested leaves cou be used.havested leaves could be ud.esd av ulbe used. >> translator: i never thought radioactivity would be found here. >> reporter: in may, kaga prefecture tested samples of farm products for radioactivity. tests showed that all the products in the area were conser bow the legal limit for contamination, except tea. the reason the tea contains radioactive material lies in the way it grows. after the incident, radioactivity released from the power plant adhered to the leaves. the buds of the tea abs

nauk lar watch brings you insight and information on the fukushima daiichi process. don't miss, nuclear watch and the road ahead, on newsline. >>> what happens to sky scrapers when they're hit by shock waves from a massive earthquake? new data suggests they may be more vulnerable than previously thought. >> the swank is intention. >> sky skriepers y scrapers swak and forth after the earthquake on march 11. experiencing the strongest shaking. experts simulate the intensity of the quake inside high rise buildings. testing what would happen on the top floor after 50-story building. the device they used simulating the world's strongest swaying motion. the roof, swaying from side it side, back and forth a long ways. maximum amplitude is 60 centimeters. the long period ground motion is characteristic, slow with each cycle lasting two second or longer. >> the march 11th quake was the strongest ever for super sigh ohio rise buildings in or near tokyo. >> the long period ground motion made the sky scrapers top floors. but we found that another added to the damage. the head of

"nuclear watch" brings you insight and information on the impact of the fukushima daiichi crisis and "the road ahead" examines japan's efforts to recover and rebuild. don't miss "nuclear watch" and "the road ahead" on "newsline." >>> the japanese government has revised the details of its plan to deal with the accident at the fukushima daiichi nuclear power plant. the decision came at a meeting of the nuclear disaster task force attended by all cabinet ministers on tuesday. the task force concluded that the first stage of the plan, the stable cooling of the crippled reactors, was achieved on schedule in mid-july. it approved a change to the plan that was originally announced in april. the revision includes details of the second stage to be completed by next january and the next targets about three years after that. the second stage involves a sharp cut in radiation levels. under the updated plan, the government will carry out regular health checks on residents in fukushima prefecture for about 30 years. the test will include thyroid cancer checks for children and measuring the interna

"nuclear watch" brings you insight and information on the impact of the fukushima daiichi crisis and "the road ahead" examines japan's efforts to recover and rebuild. don't miss nucle"nuclear watch" "the road ahead" on "newsline." >>> as we've been reporting reuters says an explosion has damaged a building housing a building in the capital oslo on friday. the news agency reports several people were injured. once again, reuters says an explosion damaged a building housing the office of the prime minister in the norwegian capital of oslo on friday. the news agency reports several people were injured. >>> the operator of the nuclear power plant in central japan will take measures to build an 18-meter high embankment by december next year. the electric power company said on friday that the breakwater will be three meters taller than the waves that hit fukushima daiichi nuclear power plant in march. the plant operator added the barrier will be ten meters taller than the highest waves that could be expected in three major earthquakes occurred in the area at the same time. the utility says

our weekly segment that brings you the latest on the crisis of the fukushima daiichi plant. one includes contaminated beef that entered the supply chain in japan. it comes from cattle that ate rice with radio active sees yum. they are holding back on buying beef that is forcing live stock haulers from taking shipments. some are worried about their lively hoods. fukushima prefectures advisory zone, in july it was up to six times the government safety limit was detected in beef from cattle shipped from a farm to a meat processing facility in tokyo. radio active cesium can turn the exposure it radiation but a single serving of the contaminated beef will have no impact on human health. >>> a farm about 7 kilometers from fukushima daiichi with rice straw with radio active was used for feed. it was 80 kilometers from the nuclear plant. >> translator: i never imagined this could have happened. i have no idea what i should say to people who have already eaten the beef. i'm sorry and sad. >> the national institute for environmental studies continue a simulation after the first explos

. >>> the operate over the troubled fukushima daiichi power plant says it will revise manuals for the cooling system. as we've been reporting all week, the operation has repeatedly been suspended because of a number of human errors. tepco started the device which decon t. in the latest case, for instance, frenchmade device in the unit stopped automatically on thursday, but operations resumed five hours later. tepco said on friday that the stoppage may have been caused by flawed programming of water levels for a tank attached to the device. as a result of several snags the water recycling system was operating at 55% capacity as of tuesday. >> translator: we're using newly made and newly installed devices. it's understandable there are problems. >> the operation is considered vital tory dugs the amount of radioactive water that's building up in the plant's compound. the water recycling apprentice has been installed by combined several technologies. >>> eastern japan now in the grips of the heat of summer is facing an energy crisis. the accident at the fukushima daiichi power plant led t

at the fukushima daiichi nuclear power plant. >>> met with ariva vice president in paris on monday. he expressed gratitude for mokly for providing the -- at the reactors. >> translator: we must review the safety standards and implement best measures to operate them. >> mockly said the industry in europe is facing problems since the problem. if the industry becomes more transparent.

the operator of the troubled fukushima daiichi nuclear plant says a new cooling system is now workingl following a string of problems. tokyo electric power company says it will accelerate the cooling of the plant's reactors in august, a vital step to bringing them under control. tepco says the cooling system has been working almost as planned since the start of this month. the system, which recycles decontaminated radioactive waste water, had struggled to get up and running since its launch in late june. the utility says that with radioactive water still leaking from three reactors it had to limit the amount of waste water used in the system. the leaks mean that the level of toxic water already accumulated is not falling. the utility says if the water decontaminator keeps working properly the water level will drop to more than one meter below the risk of overflowing by next month. that in turn would allow it to increase the amount of water used to cool the reactors. but tepco says it's still concerned about the extent of damage to the reactor containment vessels, injecting more water

at the fukushima daiichi nuclear power plant. >>> met with ariva vice president in paris on monday. he expressed gratitude for mokly for providing the -- at the reactors. >> translator: we must review the safety standards and implement best measures to operate them. >> mockly said the industry in europe is facing problems since the problem. if the industry becomes more transparent. he added that ariva hopes to exchange views on aspects of nuclear energy with japan in the future. >>> a majority of the nuclear plants in japan have been halted since the fukushima power plant accident. but not all are against resuming their operations. a mayor in southwestern japan has approved the resumption of two plants. the gankai plant has been given the go ahead after the march disaster. the mayor of gangki town gave the go ahead. two reactors at the plant have been idle since routine checkups were completed in april. >> i'm convinced that the safety sof the genkai plant has been secured. >> translator: we'll continue to do our best to gain understanding about the safety of nuclear power generatio

"nuclear watch" brings you insight on the impact of the fukushima daiichi crisis. and "the road ahead" focuses on japan's efforts to rebuild. don't forget to watch on "newsline." >>> three officials of the north korean olympic committee have arrived in tokyo to attend a meeting of the olympic council on sunday. where vice president of the north korean olympic committee and two others arrived monday night. they're the first from that country to visit japan in five years. in october 2006, they were banned from entering the country. the move was in protest against the north's nuclear tests and the abductions of japanese nationals. government officials say they allowed the officials to come to japan in view of the olympic charter that prohibits discrimination for political reasons. the north korean member of the committee and another official will arrive on wednesday for the meeting. they're scheduled to be in japan until friday. >>> the u.s. navy opened its nuclear-powered submarine to the media in south korea on monday in a show of deterrence aimed at north korea. th

we go over the information about the ongoing crisis at the fukushima daiichi plant. it has been about three months since tepco announced a plan for the situation. they say the first stage of the plan is complete. but the reactors still aren't under control. >> translator: the target of steadily reducing radiation levels from the plant has been achieved. >> translator: the government says the radiation has been cut from 1 millions of the peak. rejecting nitrogen gas to stop explosions in the buildings have been finished. workers were pouring fresh water on reactors to cool them but some was contaminated and leaked outside. in late june new steps tore taken. tepco says the cooling system is operating on water recycled within the plant. but the system has stopped a number of times due to technical troubles and human errors. it has been operating at an approximately 50% capacity. still below the final target of 09%. 90%. when and how evacuees will be able to return home in another focal point. the government says they will make a decision after confirming the safety of t

the firm is providing assistance in resolving the problems at the fukushima daiichi nuclear power plant. he met with ariva vice president dominique mockley in paris on monday. he expressed gratitude for providing the technology for decontaminating water at the fukushima plant's reactors. >> translator: we must urgently review the safety standards and implement the best measures to ensure them. >> he suggested that enhancing safety at nuclear power plants is essential to maintaining nuclear power generation in the future. mockley said the nuclear generation in europe is facing opposition since the fukushima accident, but says he believes it's possible to regain the public's trust if the industry becomes more transparent. he added that ariva hopes to exchange views on variouses as t aspects of nuclear energy with japan in the future. members of djapan's nuclear saf tiff administration says they must do more before lifting an evacuation advisory for areas near the fukushima daiichi nuclear plant. during a news conference on monday, they were referring to comments made by the minister in ch

the panel also referred to the nuclear accident at fukushima daiichi. it underlined the need to set up a venue between consultations between the national government and prefectural authorities to ensure the revitalization of areas affected by the nuclear accident. the issue of paying for the reconstruction effort is also addressed in the panel's report. an increase of core taxes is recommended to avoid transferring the financial burden to future generations. and the chair of the government's advisory panel on reconstruction is with us now. the interview will be conducted in japanese with a translation provided by interpreters. >> translator: thank you for joining us. could you tell us about the philosophy behind the panel's reconstruction blueprint? >> translator: there are two main aspects. first, our reconstruction blueprint describes our strong determination that we will not forsake disaster-hit areas. we will continue to take care of the victims, and we will always be with them. in other words, the blueprint is a clear statement that we will support

. >>> the operator of the fukushima daiichi plant is working to allow the injection of nitrogen to prevent an explosion. workers spent ten minutes in the building on friday to determine whether pipes can be connected to the containment vessel. the utility says workers confirmed the connections are intact and that work can start saturday. this is the pillar of the plan to bring the facility under control. but the work to insert the pipes has already been delayeded and the nuclear and industrial safety agency must spend several days doing safety checks before the nitrogen injection can begin. it e are mains uncertain whether it can be carried out by july 17th as scheduleded. >>> prime minister naoto hkan abruptly decided to conduct additional safety checks on all reactors in japan. kan told a cabinet meeting on friday he was late in giving instructions on the so-called stress tests and feels responsible. the additional screening is designed to find out how well nuclear facilities can with stand earthquakes and tsunami. after the meeting the chief cabinet secretary expressed regret over the c

"nuclear watch" brings you insight and information on the impact of the fukushima daiichi crisis. "the road ahead" examines japan's efforts to rover and rebuild. don't miss "nuclear watch" and "the road ahead" on "newsline." >>> a severe tropical storm has left at least 27 people dead in the philippines. weather owe fishes in the country say severe tropical storm na-te made landfall on the eastern side of luzon, it swept across manila to the south china sea. the 27 casualties include a 13-year-old girl who fell into a swollen river in quezon province. 20 people are missing including the crew of a capsized boat. many villages are flooded and troops have been sent to rescue people who are marooned. >>> hello there. time now for your weather update. let's take a look at eastern asia. the korean peninsula has bn dealing with excessive rainfall the past couple of days. hearing reports of deadly landslides across south korea and also in seoul serious flooding situation going on here as well. this frontal system will stay with us, picking up that moisture from the east china sea. so it d

nuclear watch brings you insight and information on the impact of the fukushima daiichi crisis. "the road ahead" examines japan's efforts to recover and rebuild. don't miss "nuclear watch" and "the road ahead" on "newsline." >>> lawyers for a nepalese man have requested a retrial based on new dna findings. the man was convicted of robbing and murdering a woman in 1997. he has consistently denied the charges and saute retrial in 2005. the new comparative analysis of bodily fluid on the victim and hair found at the murder site indicate the victim might have had contact with another man and that it's highly likely he committed the crime. on tuesday, the lawyer submitted a lawyer to the court requesting a retrial. in convicting mana li, the court ruled it's highly unlikely another man was at the crime scene with the victim. the lawyers say the new findings have clarified mistakes in the court's decision. but prosecutors say the new evidence is not enough to change the guilty sentence. lawyers and prosecutors will meet at the court on august 10th to discuss legal procedures. >>> japa

. >>> the newly installed cooling system at the fukushima daiichi nuclear plant resumed operation on thursday night after hitting another snag when its water treatment equipment stopped. tokyo electric power company says the decontamination equipment stopped automatically on thursday afternoon when the alarm went off. tepco says the problem turned out to be a malfunction of a french-made device that removes radioactive material from the water. it is looking into the cause of the malfunction. tepco says it has continued injecting circulated water into the reactors as it has already treated about 2,000 tons of water to be used for cooling. meanwhile, contaminated water at the number 6 reactor turbine building is increasing. tepco has been storing the water in makeshift tanks. it began transferring the water on thursday afternoon to a giant steel barge, called a megafloat, which is attacked to a quay on the plant's premises. but the company says it has no final plan to dispose of the water stored on the barge. >>> in the wake of the nuclear accident in japan, germany's lower house of pa

the fukushima daiichi plant has now reached stability and that the first time they have been able to stay that since the earthquake in march. the trade minister also announced officials are on track to bring the reactor to so-called cold or safe shut down within six months and radiation levels have significantly decreased. >> the coastguard rescue of a female wind surfer this morning. >> let's join amy hollyfield live at the coast station. >> apologies for the technical difficulties, the coastguard took video of it. it is incredible, this is the helicopter she was pulled to safety. this crew is only going to be out for another hour before they are going to take a break and refuel and spotted her just in time. >> as they were lowered into the bay he wasn't worried about himself. he is says he was concerned about what state kathy katone would be in. the 62-year-old had been in the water for 13 hours. >> she was in excellent condition. she didn't complain and calm, cool and collected. >> her sail had failed her late yesterday afternoon and she wasn't able to piece it back in. she tried

the fukushima daiichi plant has now reached stability and that the first time they have been able to stay that since the earthquake in march. the trade minister also announced officials are on track to bring the reactor to so-called cold or safe shut down within six months and radiation levels have significantly decreased. >> the coastguard rescue of a female wind surfer this morning. >> let's join amy hollyfield live at the coast station. >> apologies for the technical difficulties, the coastguard took video of it. it is incredible, this is the helicopter she was pulled to safety. this crew is only going to be out for another hour before they are going to take a break and refuel and spotted her just in time. >> as they were lowered into the bay he wasn't worried about himself. he is says he was concerned about what state kathy katone would be in. the 62-year-old had been in the water for 13 hours. >> she was in excellent condition. she didn't complain and calm, cool and collected. >> her sail had failed her late yesterday afternoon and she wasn't able to piece it back in. she tried

fresh on march 11 when northeast japan was engulfed by a tsunami that caused meltdowns at the fukushima daiichi nuclear power plant. all across the fukushima region, people's lives will never be the same. well, we're headed towards the village of iitate, which lies somewhere between the city of fukushima and the nuclear power plant. i've been told that radiation levels are somewhat higher today in fukushima. so i rented a geiger counter in boston before leaving on this trip, because they're very hard to come by in japan, right now, for obvious reasons. as the nuclear crisis spiraled out of control, towns surrounding the plant were evacuated. as we approach iitate, the numbers are shooting up now, which is not good for human health. 470. 523. whoa, this is elevated. iitate lies 25 miles northwest of the plant, and it's as close as i'm prepared to go on this trip. it was a farming town before the disaster. but with high radiation levels, tokyo ordered a mandatory evacuation, something that was unthinkable for the mayor, norio kanno. >> werman: the mayor isn't alone. many others told me japanese p

japan's electricity. 35 plants were shut down as a precaution when the f due due suffered -- fukushima daiichilant shut down. >> san francisco's japantown pays tribute to the victims of the earthquake and tsunami. ♪ >>> japanese flower offering ceremony remembered the 23,000 victims of the disaster. it was also meant as a reminder there is still a continuing need for support and assistance in japan. >> it's compassion and say prayers like this. and in assistance from all over the world and japan will owe come this disaster. >> the special flower arrangements were made by a ichbana society. >>> next at 5:00, bay bridge milestone that has workers celebrating this morning. >> the de anza trail is turning from a peaceful place to enjoying nature to a dangerous spot riddled with shootings. >> and richmond police reveal a motive in a gun battle that left three men dead in richmond. ttq empty nest, new kitchen, new us? who are we? chic, modern, daring dinner-party hosts. that sounds dangerous, maybe we're more the tradiotional sunday brunch set? i'll expect slippers and a cocktail to be ready when

you'll recall on the 11th of march, tsunami waves crippled these cooling plants at the fukushima daiichi complex that set up meltdowns and ex poerkss in reactors and a meltdown in a fourth. green peace scientists said they'd collected enough data to judge this disaster a level seven. that's the worst kind possible. other experts agreed. but it took until april 12 for the japanese government to call the partial meltdown of three nuclear reactors a level seven disaster. as for people living nearby, the japanese government waited until april 11th to widen its danger zone beyond 20 kilometers. that's nearly a month after the u.s. government recommended americans living inside 80 kilometers of the plant either leave or stay indoors. and then there's this. >> we think there is a partial meltdown, but that as you correctly noted, that doesn't necessarily mean the containment vessel will fail. >> that's energy secretary steven chu testifying before congress on march 16th. on april 2nd he said that based on high radiation levels, 70% of the number one reactor core had been damaged. secretary chu,

they're concerned about the safety of japan's fukushima daiichi nuclear plant, which is still emitting low-level radiation. lucy craft reports from tokyo. >> reporter: darkened offices and aloha shirts-- japan is pulling out the stops this summer to cope with a drastic power shortage triggered by the nuclear accident. >> ( translated ): we're not forcing this on people. what we're saying is, "change your lifestyle, and work habits, so that you can keep thermostats set at 80 degrees." >> reporter: while conservative japanese businessmen have been less than enthusiastic about swapping their suits for tee- shirts, shorts and sandals, companies are stepping up to the plate, shifting work schedules to off-peak hours and weekends, and minimizing energy use to meet the national goal of a 15% cut in power consumption. the threat of blackouts has hot- wired demand for a quaint old appliance-- the electric fan. from $40 asian knockoffs to futuristic bladeless fans costing as much as a computer, sales of fans overall are about twice normal and many stores can't stock enough. >> ( translated ): cu

"nuclear watch" brings you insight and information on the fukushima daiichi nuclear crisis and "the road ahead" examines japan's efforts to recover and rebuild. don't miss "nuclear watch" and "the road ahead" on "newsline." >>> french president nicolas sarkozy says the country will withdraw a quarter of its stationed troops in afghanistan by the end of next year. sarkozy announced the pullout as a news conference with afghan president karzai in kabul on tuesday. >> translator: afghanistan is no longer in danger of being taken over by the afghanisn. the time is now to start the drawdown of troops. >> sarkozy says the drawdown about end by 2012. sarko sarkozy's move comes as other countries are withdrawing troops from afghanistan. the united states plans to bring home about a third of its armed forces by september next year, starting this month. sarkozy is facing increasing calls at home to withdraw troops from afghanistan. next year's presidential election seems to be a key factor to reduce the french military presence. >>> france is calling for the u.n. security council to dump the resol

highly unlikely the debris is radioactive because the tsunami swept it out to sea before the fukushima-daiichi nuclear plant melted down. >>> in montana, the oil snail has polluted the yellowstone river is now even bigger. officials report oil has spread at least 15 miles from beyond the initial leak. exxonmobil officials say even though more people are hired to clean it up, getting to the break has been difficult. swift river currents and flooding has made it unsafe to send crews out. more than 40,000 gallons of oil spilled into the river before the pipeline was shut down on friday. >>> topping our "health watch," just one glass of wine is enough to raise your blood alcohol to a level where you could be seriously injured in a car accident. researchers at u.c. san diego studied national data on fatal car crashes from 1994 to 2008. they found the blood alcohol level that was barely detectible, .01, was linked to accidents that were 36% more severe than those in which no alcohol was found. the legal limit in the u.s. is .08. >>> can you eat just one? if you have a problem putting down the chips

the area is recovering from that nuclear accident at the fukushima daiichi nuclear plant.ing they are taking that action now. >> you're right. message delivered but not received. u.s. and libyan officials met secretly over the weekend face to face in tunisia but they have different reactions to exactly what this meeting was about. the u.s. says the sole purpose was driving home the point that moammar gadhafi must go as libya's leader. the libyans describe the meeting as a first step toward negotiating an end to the nato campaign that's taking pe ining this country. >> gadhafi going is not on their negotiating table. they're talking. that's good. >>> london's parliament is holding hearings to get to the bottom of the phone hacking scandal. the city's top cop just resigned, paul stephenson, appearing before british lawmakers and announced his resignation on sunday. >> stakes couldn't be higher when rupert murdoch appears before parliament taking place at 9:30 eastern this morning. reports are already circulating suggesting that his days may be numbered as ceo of news corp. a

firmly back on the safety of nuclear power following japan's tsunami and the problems at the fukushima daiichi plant china is looking at spearheading efforts to make the industry safer and much safer the chinese are investing millions in research into reactors powered by the element a metal proponents say as common as lead and one which despite some concerns would lead to power plants with fewer safety issues as well as other benefits. thore and based reactors certainly have advantages release from the story and is greater than from uranium the by products from using story in a less toxic than from uranium and it's much harder to make weapons from those my products. that public outcry following the problems at the fukushima plant led to beijing putting a freeze on approvals of all new nuclear power stations and safety checks at the twenty seven currently under construction however with chinese electricity consumption growing at more than five percent a year and its current reliance on fossil fuels to generate that unsustainable it's unlikely the crisis in japan will dampen china's thirst for n