March 17 (Xinhua) -As the world's second biggest nuclear power after the United States, France on Thursday announced a series of measures to help Japan deal with its nuclear crisis.
Areva, French giant nuclear group, said on its website that a cargo plane heading for Japan would carry 100 tons of boric acid provided by Electricite de France (EDF), in addition to 3,000 activated charcoal protective masks, 10,000 overalls and 20,000 gloves.
The over 90 percent government-owned group also decided to donate one million euros (1.4 million U.S. dollars) to the Japanese Red Cross.
The first French aid plane with radiation-absorbent chemicals took off Thursday morning, carrying such emergency aid resources as radiation monitoring equipment, robots and an expert team, said Henri Progli, chairman of EDF, the country's leading electricity producer and nuclear plants operator.
As the 116-member French rescue team was forced to move away from the dangerous nuclear plant in Japan, France offered to treat Japanese people affected by radiation in specialized French hospitals, Interior Minister Claude Gueant said on local radio Europe 1.
Later in the afternoon, French President Nicolas Sarkozy said if consented by the Japanese government, he wanted to visit Japan by the end of this month to show the solidarity of France, as well as Group of Eight and Group of Twenty, of which France is the rotating president.
>>> France , on Thursday ( 17/03/2011 ) , will send a plane carrying 95 tons of boron , an element that inhibits radiation , to help Japan resolve the crisis at the Fukushima nuclear power plant . It is said Energy and Industry Minister Eric Besson . The first plane carrying 95 tons of boron depart Thursday morning , said Besson told French television . He did not explain whether the plane was carrying boron , an element that absorbs neutrons , in the form of powder or liquid . Besson said that France had offered boron on Saturday , a day after the biggest earthquake in Japan's history occurred . " But , maybe the Japanese do not think it useful or do not have time to answer , " said Besson . Japanese military helicopter on Thursday poured tons of water into the Fukushima nuclear power plant to cover the blocks of nuclear fuel stored in the tank . The amount of water in the pool that has fallen to dangerous levels through evaporation so that the exposing beam of fuel that could pose a risk that the temperature rise could cause the beam of fuel it burns .
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