05/05/2011, 00.00
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Fukushima, for the first time a group of technicians enter the nuclear reactor

They will install a ventilation system to filter the radiation in the air and repair the cooling system damaged by the earthquake and tsunami. TEPCO says it will gain control of the situation within a year. Toll rises to 14 thousand.

Tokyo (AsiaNews / Agencies) - For the first time since the earthquake of 11 March, a group of 12 technicians this morning entered one of the reactors at the Fukushima nuclear power plant,  announced Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), the company that operates the plant.

The technicians are installing a ventilation system to filter the air emission of radioactive particles, which will repair the cooling system of the reactor damaged by the earthquake and tsunami. Junichi Matsumoto, TEPCO spokesman, said that operators are working within the reactor four at a time, in 10 minute shifts. Matsumoto points out that at present there are no reports of leakage of radioactive water inside the plant. According to TEPCO the plant will be under control within a year.

To date, the toll from the earthquake and tsunami is of 14 thousand dead 13 thousand and missing. The reconstruction will cost over 300 billion U.S. dollars, making this the most expensive disaster in history.

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