U.S. did not deliver coolant to Japan nuclear reactor
WASHINGTON |
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. military did not provide any coolant for a Japanese nuclear plant affected by a massive earthquake on Friday, U.S. officials said.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton earlier had said that U.S. Air Force "assets" had delivered "some really important coolant" to a Japanese nuclear power plant.
One U.S. official said he believed Clinton was told Japan had requested the material, that the United States had agreed to provide it, and that an operation to do so was under way.
Ultimately, however, Japan did not need assistance from the United States but Clinton did not appear to have been updated before she made her public remarks.
"We understand that ultimately the Japanese government handled the situation on its own," said another U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
(Reporting by Arshad Mohammed; Editing by Will Dunham)
These reactors are water cooled. How could the U.S. be asked to deliver coolant? There is obviously a miscommunication which has been propagated repeatedly around the world. Possibly generators and/or batteries may have been requested but it difficult to see how those assets would not have been more readily available in-country.
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