NRC: No Water In Spent Fuel Pool Of Japan Plant, AP, March 16, 2011 at 8:50 pm EST:

The chief of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission said Wednesday that all the water is gone from one of the spent fuel pools at Japan’s most troubled nuclear plant, raising the possibility of widespread nuclear fallout. But Japanese officials denied the pool was dry.

“There is no water in the spent fuel pool and we believe that radiation levels are extremely high, which could possibly impact the ability to take corrective measures,” NRC Chairman Gregory Jaczko said at a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee hearing.

If Jaczko was correct, this would mean there was nothing to stop the fuel rods from heating and ultimately melting down. The outer shell of the rods could also ignite with enough force to propel the radioactive fuel inside over a wide area.

That country’s nuclear safety agency and Tokyo Electric Power Co., which operates the six-unit Fukushima Dai-ichi complex, denied Jaczko’s statements that the water is gone from the pool. …

“My understanding is there is no water in the spent fuel pool,” he said. “I hope my information is wrong. It’s a terrible tragedy for Japan.”

Jaczko said the information came from NRC staff and experts in Tokyo who are working with the utility in Japan. He said NRC staffers continue to believe the spent fuel pool is dry. “They believe the information they have is reliable,” he said.

Read the report here.