“As strong aftershocks occur almost daily, we have to consider what will happen to buildings already damaged by blasts.”-Nishiyama Hidehiko, Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency

Concern for new problems at Fukushima Daiichi, caused by several intense aftershocks, and rising temperatures in Reactor 4 spent fuel pool after a battery storage box caught fire.

Tokyo Electric Power Company says that higher-than-usual levels of radioactive iodine-131, cesium-134 and cesium-137, are coming from Reactor 4 fuel pool.  Reactor 4 was shut down at the time of the tsunami, and all the active fuel rods were in the spent fuel pool.  Inspection of the fuel pool revealed that some rods are damaged, but most are intact.

The Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency wants TEPCo to inspect all buildings for more damage caused by aftershocks.  The concern is that the buildings have been weakened by the 9.0 quake, tsunami and massive hydrogen gas explosions.