Japan nuclear crisis under review at 2-month mark
(CNN) -- Japan's government and the owner of the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant are reviewing efforts to wind down the two-month crisis as thousands of nearby residents await word regarding planned evacuations.
Plant workers are making step-by-step progress toward restoring normal cooling, the Tokyo Electric Power Co. said.
Nearly 80,000 people have spent two months away from their homes in the 20-kilometer (12.5-mile) zone around the plant, while tens of thousands more are awaiting orders to evacuate more distant towns where radiation levels are likely to raise the long-term cancer risk.
In the city of Fukushima, displaced residents berated Tokyo Electric President Masataka Shimizu and other top utility executives, who asked for forgiveness in their hands and knees Tuesday. About 100 residents from the village of Kawauchi were allowed to return home for a short visit.
They were issued protective gear, allowed to pack one small bag and spend two hours in their homes. Some returned to find pets -- left behind in the initial confusion -- dead of starvation, Japan's Environment Ministry reported Wednesday.
Private animal-rescue groups had mounted expeditions into the evacuation zone to rescue pets before the government began enforcing the restricted area in late April. Government officials plan to retrieve other pets Wednesday, the ministry said.
(CNN) -- Japan's government and the owner of the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant are reviewing efforts to wind down the two-month crisis as thousands of nearby residents await word regarding planned evacuations.
Plant workers are making step-by-step progress toward restoring normal cooling, the Tokyo Electric Power Co. said.
Nearly 80,000 people have spent two months away from their homes in the 20-kilometer (12.5-mile) zone around the plant, while tens of thousands more are awaiting orders to evacuate more distant towns where radiation levels are likely to raise the long-term cancer risk.
In the city of Fukushima, displaced residents berated Tokyo Electric President Masataka Shimizu and other top utility executives, who asked for forgiveness in their hands and knees Tuesday. About 100 residents from the village of Kawauchi were allowed to return home for a short visit.
They were issued protective gear, allowed to pack one small bag and spend two hours in their homes. Some returned to find pets -- left behind in the initial confusion -- dead of starvation, Japan's Environment Ministry reported Wednesday.
Private animal-rescue groups had mounted expeditions into the evacuation zone to rescue pets before the government began enforcing the restricted area in late April. Government officials plan to retrieve other pets Wednesday, the ministry said.
