TOKYO - Officials at the tsunami-damaged Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant have detected a radioactive gas associated with fission that could indicate a problem at one of its reactors. They are injecting boric acid as a precautionary measure.
Gas from inside the reactor indicated the presence of radioactive Xenon, which could be the byproduct of unexpected nuclear fission. The boric acid -- used to control nuclear reactions -- was being injected Tuesday through a cooling pipe as a countermeasure, although it was not clear if fission had occurred.
The Tokyo Electric Power Co., or TEPCO, said there was no rise in the reactor's temperature, pressure or radiation levels. Hiroyuki Imari, a spokesman with the Nuclear Industrial Safety Agency, said the detection of the gas was not believed to indicate a major problem.
