IAEA Director-General to visit Japan

Director General, Yukiya Amano, briefed the media in Vienna, Austria on the developing situation at the nuclear facilities in Japan. In his opening remarks he announced that he will be travelling to Japan on 17 March 2011 to get the latest information on the ballooning nuclear crisis in Japan.

He confirms that the situation at Fukushima Daiich Nuclear Power Plant is very serious. While the cores of the damaged nuclear reactors have been exposed, the fact that the reactor pressure remains above atmospheric pressure implies that the core is largely intact. He also announced the formation of a Fukushima Daiich Coordination Team which consists of 2 expert groups: nuclear safety & radiation protection.