Power lines hooked up at crippled reactor complex

 Fukushima, Japan (AP):

Workers at a leaking nuclear plant hooked up power lines to all six of the crippled complex's reactor units yesterday, but other repercussions from the massive earthquake and tsunami were still rippling across the nation as economic losses mounted at three of Japan's flagship companies.

The progress on the electrical lines at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant was a welcome and significant advance after days of setbacks. With the power lines connected, officials hope to start up the overheated plant's crucial cooling system that was knocked out during the March 11 tsunami and earthquake that devastated Japan's northeast coast.

equipment check

Tokyo Electric Power Co warned that workers still need to check all equipment for damage first before switching the cooling system on to all the reactor units, a process that could take days or even weeks.

Emergency crews also dumped 18 tons of seawater into a nearly boiling storage pool holding spent nuclear fuel, cooling it to 105 degrees Fahrenheit (50 degrees Celsius), Japan's nuclear safety agency said. Steam, possibly carrying radioactive elements, had been rising for two days from the reactor building, and the move lessens the chances that more radiation will seep into the air.