A long armed crane equipped vehicle began spraying water Tuesday at 5:17 PM Japan time into nuclear reactor 4. 

Tuesday Morning EDT/ Tuesday Evening Japan Time
Nuclear/Tsunami/Earthquake Update


"But hopes are Shy Birds flying at a great distance seldom reached by the best of Guns."
-John James Audubon
Water was injected into reactor 4 at the Fukushima Daiishi complex by a pump equipped with a long arm normally used to pump concrete at construction sites. This device is now pumping water but a similar device was used at Chernobyl to entomb the reactor in concrete.

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director-General Yukiya Amano stated to the BBC today,"The crisis has still not been resolved and the situation at the [plant] remains very serious," and he had "no doubt that this crisis will be effectively overcome". He was cheered by the fact that the cooling systems of Plants 5 & 6 had been restored to service.
There is little more news other than TEPCO is saying smoke from reactors 2 & 3 is subsiding. Yesterday they said it had stopped. I wish they would get their story straight. But it is difficult to approach to get an accurate status if radiation is dangerously hight. 

An Ounce of Prevention is Worth a Pound of Cure Department
The long history of TEPCO's shoddy safety record in Japan is coming to light. The company is being accused of poor record keeping and covering up accidents at 50 nuclear facilities. This story is found in this Los Angeles Times this morning. There is a strong suspicion that TEPCO has continued to falsify data at Fukushima Daiishi as they have in the past.

"There's Action Only If There Is Danger." -Howard Hawks
Seawater near the plant has measured 126.7 times the safe limit for radioactive iodine. But an unnamed TEPCO spokesman downplayed the danger. "You would have to drink [the seawater] for a whole year just in order to accumulate one millisievert [of radiation]."

People Who Need People Are The Luckiest People In The World
There is an acute shortage of gasoline in the affected area and an effort is being made to supply gasoline. There are difficulties because of damage to the roads. One wonders how excited the rest of Japan is to have thousands of refugees swarming out of these areas if they had the gasoline to operate their automobiles.
Many refugees are suffering from flu and gastrointestinal diseases as well as lacking any prescription drugs they may need. The stress of their living conditions, exposure and lack of proper food is contributing to susceptibility to sickness.