Japan is to decommission four stricken reactors at the quake-hit Fukushima nuclear plant.

The money is a small fraction of the estimated $1100 million cost of cleaning up the stricken reactor.

It said Mr. Shevchenko, who filmed in the immediate vicinity of the stricken reactor, had a high temperature while editing the film but continued to work.

The crises seem to be piling up almost by the hour-yesterday, a third explosion occurred, which quite possibly damaged the reactor vessel of the most severely stricken reactor, No. 2.

The United Nations predicted that the initial radiation plume from the stricken Japanese reactors would reach the United States by 18 March.

Their activities included assessing the damage and radiation levels caused by the explosions, cooling stricken reactors with seawater and preventing any risk of fire.

The government's acceptance of help from the US and France has strengthened the belief that the battle to save the stricken reactors, now well into its third week, is lost.

NHK, Japan's public broadcaster, debuted a tabletop diorama of the stricken reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

We approach the stricken reactor no 4 from the rear.

Temperatures were becoming extreme (one thermocouple registered 1,300 C) and the biological shield around the stricken reactor was now in severe danger of collapse.