Nuclear crisis in Japan getting worse

TOKYO, JAPAN (NEWS1130) – The nuclear crisis is getting worse at a power plant heavily damaged from the earthquake in Japan.  The water inside a waste fuel storage pool at one damaged reactor may be boiling.

And that is the water which is supposed to be kept cool to prevent fuel rods from resuming nuclear reactions.  This is now being called the second worst nuclear incident in history after Chernobyl in 1986.

One of the containment chambers may have also been breached after the third explosion, raising the possibility of more radioactive material leaking out.

Most workers have been evacuated from the Fukushima Daiichi power plant.

There have been fires and three explosions at reactors at the plant.  And there are reports radiation levels have dropped after spiking, but Japan’s Prime Minister says two reactors are still leaking, with the risk still very high.

Everyone within 30 kilometres of the plant is being told to stay inside and seal their homes.

There have been reports of panic as people try to buy emergency materials and groceries in Tokyo, which is 275 kilometres away from the reactor.

The official death toll following last week’s earthquake and tsunami has risen above 2,700 while 450,000 people are in shelters.

Things are still quite unstable as two moderate aftershocks rattled nerves in that country.  Earlier today a 6.2 magnitude quake struck the northeast part of the country, close to the epicentre.  And then just minutes later a 6.0 shaker rumbled southwest of Tokyo.

Top Stories

Top Stories

Most Watched Today