From the Japan Times
Water manually turned off: data
Worker error may have led to meltdown
By MINORU MATSUTANI and MASAMI ITO
The emergency cooling system for reactor 1 at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant may have been shut down manually before the tsunami hit on March 11, according to a Tokyo Electric Power Co. spokesman and documents recently released by the utility.
A part of the cooling system known as the isolation condenser was down for about three hours, which could have contributed to the reactor core’s meltdown.
The finding upends the government’s previous conclusion that the condenser was functioning normally on March 11.
“I learned (of the shutdown) through media reports today,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano told a news conference Tuesday. “We have asked the Nuclear and Industry Safety Agency and other bodies to give detailed analyses and reports (on that matter).”
NISA, the government agency that oversees nuclear plant operators, urged Tepco on Tuesday to provide a detailed explanation by May 23. . . [ ding-dong! MAY 23rd ??? ]
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20110517x1.html
Chaos reigned after quake at nuke plant
TOKYO, May 17 (UPI) — The situation at Japan’s Fukushima nuclear plant was pure chaos in the aftermath of the March 11 quake and tsunami, company documents indicate.
The documents released by Tokyo Electric Power Co. lay out the chronology of events at the plant as the nuclear disaster unfolded, the Mainichi Daily News reported.
Just after the magnitude-9 earthquake struck at 2:46 p.m., reactors No. 1-3 began emergency shutdown procedures.
Some 45 minutes later all power to the plant was cut off when a tsunami struck.
Power source trucks to supply the plant’s reactors got struck in traffic [!!!] and could not get to Fukushima from nearby TEPCO facilities. . . .
flying cuttlefish picayune 
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