To Your Health

Japan Raises Nuclear Crisis Alert Level – World news – Asia-Pacific – msnbc.com.

Japan raises nuclear crisis alert level
A small fire breaks out at crippled nuclear plant; more aftershocks
msnbc.com news services msnbc.com news services
updated 11 minutes ago 2011-04-12T02:59:23

TOKYO — The Japanese government’s nuclear safety agency raised the crisis level of the Fukushima Dai-ichi power plant accident from 5 to 7, the worst on the international scale and on par with the  Chernobyl accident 25 years ago.

The emission of radioactive substances from the stricken plant is about 10 percent of the amount that  had been detected at Chernobyl, the agency said on Tuesday.

Kyodo news agency said the government agency estimated the amount of radioactive material released  from the reactors in Fukushima, northern Japan, reached a maximum of 10,000 terabequerels per hour  at one point for several hours, which would classify the incident as a major accident according to the International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale (INES).

The rating reflects the initial severity of the crisis not the current situation which has seen radiation  levels drop dramatically.

“This is a preliminary assessment, and is subject to finalization by the International Atomic Energy Agency,” said an official at the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency (NISA), the government’s nuclear watchdog,  which made the announcement with the Nuclear Safety Commission.

Japan is struggling to regain control of the plant after a massive earthquake and tsunami devastated its northeast on March 11, and is facing a major humanitarian and economic crisis.

Japan had previously assessed the accident at reactors operated by Tokyo Electric Power Co, at level 5, the same level as the Three Mile Island accident in 1979.

Small fire extinguished

Also Tuesday, workers at Japan’s tsunami-stricken nuclear power complex discovered a small fire near
a reactor building Tuesday but it was extinguished quickly, the plant’s operator said.

Tokyo Electric Power Co., which operates the disabled Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant, said the
fire at a box that contains batteries in a building near the No. 4 reactor was discovered at about 6:38 a.m. Tuesday and was put out seven minutes later.

It wasn’t clear whether the fire was related to a magnitude-6.3 earthquake that shook the Tokyo area Tuesday morning. Kyodo said Japan’s main international airport Narita closed runways for checks but later resumed flights. The cause of the fire is being investigated.

“The fire was extinguished immediately. It has no impact on Unit 4′s cooling operations for the spent fuel  rods,” said TEPCO spokesman Naoki Tsunoda.

Aftershocks rattle nerves

There have been hundreds of aftershocks since March 11 when a massive 9 magnitude earthquake and 15 meter tsunami hit northeast Japan, plunging the country into its worst crisis since World War Two.

An aftershock measuring 6.6 quake hit Fukushima prefecture on Monday evening temporarily cutting power and forcing workers to evacuate the nuclear plant.

In Iwaki, a landslide brought down three houses, trapping up to seven people. Four were rescued alive,  but one of those — a 16-year-old girl — died at the hospital, a police official said. He would not give his name, citing policy.

Around 210,000 people have no running water and, following Monday’s aftershocks, more than 240,000  people are without electricity.

In all, nearly 190,000 people have fled their homes, the vast majority of whom are living in shelters,  according to the national disaster agency. About 85,000 are from the cleared zone around the nuclear  plant; their homes may be intact, but it’s not known when they’ll be able to return to them.

Yutaka Endo said he feels like his life has been put on hold because of the nuclear crisis.

He fled Minami Soma and has been living in a shelter in Fukushima city for three weeks with his family.

“I can’t make any plans because of the nuclear crisis. My home was fine, but I can’t go back there because  it is in a restricted area,” said the 32-year-old, who used to tend bar. “I need to find a new job and a place to  live so that we can get out of here. But I can’t do anything until these zones are lifted.”

Ryokou Sasaki said he and his elderly parents are in the same position. They’ve applied for temporary shelters, and are waiting to hear back.

He recently moved back home — to the northeastern port city of Kamaishi — to help his parents’ with their fishing business.

“We’re not in a place yet where we can even think about rebuilding the business yet,” said the 40-year-old.  “They seem to have given up.”

Both Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

(Article Link)
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42542906/ns/world_news-asiapacific/#