Gas suggests new problem at stricken Japan nuclear plant
Japanese officials detected an ominous radioactive gas that
suggests the country's nuclear nightmare isn't over REPORTING
FROM SEOUL -– In the latest sign that Japan's nuclear nightmare
at the stricken Fukushima Daiichi power plant is not over,
officials on Wednesday detected an ominous radioactive gas that
suggested possible nuclear fission at one of the reactors.
Officials from the Tokyo Electric Power Co., or Tepco,
acknowledged that they had detected signs of the gas xenon,
which they said could be the byproduct of a nuclear reaction.
As a precaution, workers injected boric acid, a substance that
neutralizes nuclear fission, through the facilities cooling
pipes, the utility said.  The Fukushima Daiichi plant was
damaged during a massive tsunami triggered by a March 11
earthquake that struck the coastal region several hundred miles
northeast of Tokyo.  The rushing water sent three of the plant's
reactors into meltdown, touching off fires and trigg