TEPCO begins covering work for reactors

The operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant has begun constructing giant frames to hold plastic sheets for covering the plant's damaged reactor buildings in an effort to prevent the spread of radiation.

The buildings of the No. 1, 3, and 4 reactors were severely damaged by explosions after an earthquake and tsunami hit the plant on March 11th. Radiation is still being released into the atmosphere.

Tokyo Electric Power Company, or TEPCO, on Monday started assembling the first frame at a port some 50 kilometers away from the power plant. The frame will support a huge polyester cover for the No.1 reactor building.

TEPCO is prefabricating the frame to hold a sheet measuring more than 40 meters long, 40 meters wide, and 50 meters high. The goal is to minimize workers' exposure to radiation.

At Onahama port, workers were busy assembling the steel frame from gigantic pillars and beams with a 140-meter-tall crane.

TEPCO hopes to ship the frame to the plant by late July. It plans to assemble the same covering for the damaged No. 3 and 4 reactor buildings.