Nuclear plant operators admit alarm over fuel rods

The operator of Japan’s tsunami-flooded nuclear power complex was seeking ways today to pull damaged spent fuel rods out of a storage pool at one of its reactors, citing surging radiation and elevated temperatures as worrisome signs.

The troubling signals at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear complex come as frustrations grow with Tokyo Electric Power Co’s handling of the crisis since the March 11 tsunami swamped the plant, knocking out crucial cooling systems. Restoring them will take months.