Tepco confirms meltdowns at 2 more Fukushima reactors

The government and experts said previously that fuel rods at three of Daiichi's six reactors had likely melted early in the crisis, but the utility, also known as Tepco, had only confirmed a meltdown of fuel rods at the No. 1 reactor.

On Tuesday, Tepco officials announced that fuel rods had also melted at the plant's No. 2 and No. 3 reactors.

Explaining the timing of the announcement, a Tepco official told a news conference that the utility had been gradually retrieving data from the plant since early May, and had analyzed it before reaching a conclusion.

"In the early stages of the crisis Tepco may have wanted to avoid panic. Now people are used to the situation - nothing is resolved but normal business has resumed in places like Tokyo," said Koichi Nakano, a political science professor at Sophia University.

Nakano said that by confirming the meltdowns now, Tepco may be hoping the news will have a smaller impact. The word "meltdown" has such a strong connotation that when the situation was more uncertain, more people probably would have fled Tokyo, he said.

Engineers are battling to plug radiation leaks and bring the plant 240 km (150 miles) northeast of Tokyo under control more than two months after the 9.0 magnitude earthquake and deadly tsunami that devastated a swathe of Japan's coastline and tipped the economy into recession.

The disaster has triggered a drop of more than 80 percent in Tepco's share price and forced the company to seek government aid as it faces compensation liabilities that some analysts say could top $100 billion.

Japanese trade minister Banri Kaieda said the government would approve later on Tuesday the formation of a committee that will make sure Tepco follows through with its restructuring plans.

Also on Tuesday, the government appointed Yotaro Hatamura, a university professor of engineering , to head a committee that will investigate the cause and handling of the nuclear disaster.

Tepco officials said damage to the No. 2 reactor fuel rods had begun three days after the quake, with much of the fuel rods eventually melting and collecting at the bottom of the pressure vessel containing them.

Fuel rods in the No. 3 reactor were damaged by the afternoon of March 13, they said; Kazinform cites Arab News.

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