Here’s a quick roundup of what’s happening at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant:

Radioactive water was pumped out of a trench near the Unit 2 reactor, but unfortunately, it appears to be flowing into the trench more quickly than the workers have pumped it out. According to Kyodo News, workers successfully pumped some 660 tons of water from a trench near the reactor’s turbine building to the condenser, part of the internal cooling circuit. The pumping took place on 12 April, and appeared successful, but the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency says that by Thursday evening Japan time, the water level in the trench had increased by about 4.5 centimeters. This is a problem as workers hope to reduce the amount of radioactive water at the plant to a level that will allow them to begin repairs.

Elevated levels of radiation in seawater near the plant continue to be reported by the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO). Workers at the plant have installed several barriers of silt and steel in an effort to stem the flow of radiation into the Pacific, but a quick glance at the latest data indicates radiation levels remain well above the legal limit.

TEPCO is gaining no friends among the Japanese press. A story from the Financial Times describes how the company’s most recent press conference “angered even jaded Japanese reporters with years of experience of watching dishonoured executives bow deeply and say little”.

Meanwhile companies continue to jostle for what will inevitably be a multi-billion-dollar cleanup contract. The Daily Yomiuri reports that Toshiba may ask rival company Hitachi to join its recent bid to clean up the plant in just ten years. (Other experts have their doubts.) A few more details of the Toshiba plan are being reported by the broadcaster NHK.

Image: TEPCO