Japan Unit-4 Pool’s Heat Exceeded Three-Times Normal, IAEA Says

Temperatures in a cooling pool at the crippled Japanese nuclear plant have exceeded three times normal values, causing radiation to leak directly into the atmosphere and complicating efforts to stop three reactors from melting down, the UN Atomic Energy Agency reported.

The pond at reactor No. 4 covering uranium fuel rods at the Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear plant heated to 84 degrees Celsius (183 Fahrenheit) the last time data was available on March 13, the IAEA said today on its website. Temperatures normally should be kept below 25 degrees Celsius, according to the agency.