Fukushima operator says may have slowed radioactive leak

The operator of Japan's crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant said it had reduced the flow of highly radioactive water out of a reactor, a possible sign of progress in an almost month-long battle to contain the world's biggest nuclear disaster in quarter of a century.
Samples of the water used to cool the damaged reactor No 2 were 5 million times the legal limit of radioactivity, adding to fears that contaminants had spread far beyond the disaster zone. The government said it was considering imposing radioactivity restrictions on seafood for the first time in the crisis after contaminated fish were found. India also became the first country to ban food imports from all areas of Japan over radiation fears.
Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) said late on Tuesday that it had slowed the radioactive water flow from reactor No 2 at its Fukushima Daiichi plant. Earlier, desperate engineers had used little more than home remedies, including a mixture of sawdust, newspaper and concrete, to stem the flow of contaminated water. "We can't actually measure the amount but we have visually confirmed that the amount of water flowing out is decreasing, so we have reason to think our measures are working to a certain extent, a TEPCO official told reporters.
Workers are still struggling to restart cooling pumps - which recycle the water - in four reactors damaged by last month's 9.0 magnitude earthquake and tsunami. Until those are fixed, they must pump in water from outside to prevent overheating and meltdowns. In the process, that creates more contaminated water that has to be pumped out and stored somewhere else or released into the sea.
TEPCO has offered "condolence money" to those affected in the Fukushima region where the plant is based. But one city rejected the money and local mayors who came to Tokyo to meet Prime Minister Naoto Kan demanded far more help. There is a total of 60,000 tonnes of highly contaminated water in the plant after workers frantically poured in seawater when fuel rods experienced partial meltdown after the earthquake and tsunami hit northeast Japan on March 11.
TEPCO on Monday had to start releasing 11,500 tonnes of low-level radioactive seawater after it ran out of storage capacity for more highly contaminated water. The release will continue until Friday. Radioactive iodine of up to 4,800 times the legal limit has been recorded in the sea near the plant.