Ultra-early Saturday update

Right now on the wire is an ambiguous but apparently authentic story that TEPCO is prepared to stop the contaminated water from No. 2 plant from getting into the ocean, and is checking to see if such from No. 1 and No. 3 plants is getting there too. We have no further details.

Meanwhile, the conventional US press and US agencies are playing catch-up. What do I mean? Look at this article, dateline April 2:

BOSTON GLOBE: DAMAGE SEVERE, CHU

Note how the article says that the information is the "most specific yet" and that the Japanese have been "less than forthcoming."

Readers of this blog knew the percentages of perceived core damage at least as early as the 15th of March, in the post linked below:

FUEL ELEMENT DAMAGE REPORT ATOMIC POWER REVIEW MARCH 15

The Boston Globe says that the figures given are Chu's. No, they're from TEPCO, NISA and JAIF as readers here already knew. The US media really needs to wake up. The Japanese have been forthcoming; the US media are simply incompetent.

3:00 AM Eastern Saturday 4/2
ATOMIC POWER REVIEW

UPDATE: The water that's supposedly getting to sea was found in a cable pit near the seawater intake at No. 2 plant ... probably the cable pit for the seawater pumps themselves. A crack communicating between this pit and the sea has been found. The pit has something like 20cm of water in it, measuring over 1000 mSv/hr at the surface.

FURTHER UPDATE: Japanese TV has now shown a 'zoomed out' version of TEPCO's photo, and the pit is right down by the waterfront, just immediately north of the water inlets for No. 2 plant.