Japan two weeks of the earthquake, nuclear risk is
Release Date: 25/03/2011
Source: BBC World
Country / Region: Japan
Two weeks before the earthquake and tsunami that devastated northeastern Japan, the Agency Nuclear Security in the country acknowledged Friday that the reactor containment vessel number 3 of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station could be damaged, after the area was detected in the presence of water with high levels of radioactivity.
In a press conference, Hidehiko Nishiyama, spokesman for the agency, said water with radiation could come from the reactor core, so it "can not rule out" that you damage the containment vessel or tank , while stressing that "it is premature to offer conclusions."
Japanese engineers working in the nuclear plant in Fukushima, located 240 kilometers north of Tokyo, reported that the water in reactor number 3 shows rates of radioactive contamination 10,000 times higher than normal.
The earthquake and subsequent tsunami caused serious damage to the nuclear power plant, whose reactor 3 was damaged by a hydrogen explosion on 14 March.
On Thursday, two workers were hospitalized after their feet exposed to contaminated water without using appropriate protective boots while trying to restore power in that reactor.
Taken unsung heroes who exposed to unknown dangers, some 300 engineers working in Fukushima day and night to contain the leaks of radioactivity in the complex of six reactors.
However, on Thursday had to leave some parts of the complex when the workers they replaced a cable near the unit number 3 were exposed to high pollution when standing on radioactive water.
All were taken to a hospital with possible radiation burns after they dropped water on his boots.
measures
Meanwhile, the authorities ordered the implementation of new emergency procedures in the area.
The government decided to evacuate a 20-kilometer radius around the plant in Fukushima and recommended to those living within a radius of between 20 and 30 miles to stay in their homes, although the Minister spokesman Yukio Edan , went further and advised them to voluntarily leave the area.
Operators of the plant, with the help of firefighters, resumed Friday on water injection units 2, 3 and 4 of the plant, while trying to revive the bombs to start cooling systems spraying them with seawater.
Official sources reported that the death toll from the earthquake and subsequent tsunami in Japan exceeded 10,000, while hundreds of thousands of people still live in temporary shelters.
Some 660,000 households still without water service and more than 209,000 remain without power.
Fears of radiation on the ground and beyond, radioactive particles were found in Iceland is the worst crisis in Japan since the Second World War.
adds As BBC correspondent in Tokyo, Mark Worthington, two Japanese tourists who arrived in China on a flight from Tokyo are being treated in hospital for high levels of radiation, although it is unclear how polluted.
addition to causing the worst nuclear accident since Chernobyl in 1986, the earthquake and tsunami left nearly 27,400 people dead or missing in the northeast.
More Information:
- EFE - The ASN does not rule out damage to the reactor vessel 3
- EFE - The high radioactivity makes efforts .. .
Release Date: 25/03/2011
Source: BBC World
Country / Region: Japan
Two weeks before the earthquake and tsunami that devastated northeastern Japan, the Agency Nuclear Security in the country acknowledged Friday that the reactor containment vessel number 3 of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station could be damaged, after the area was detected in the presence of water with high levels of radioactivity.
In a press conference, Hidehiko Nishiyama, spokesman for the agency, said water with radiation could come from the reactor core, so it "can not rule out" that you damage the containment vessel or tank , while stressing that "it is premature to offer conclusions."
Japanese engineers working in the nuclear plant in Fukushima, located 240 kilometers north of Tokyo, reported that the water in reactor number 3 shows rates of radioactive contamination 10,000 times higher than normal.
The earthquake and subsequent tsunami caused serious damage to the nuclear power plant, whose reactor 3 was damaged by a hydrogen explosion on 14 March.
On Thursday, two workers were hospitalized after their feet exposed to contaminated water without using appropriate protective boots while trying to restore power in that reactor.
Taken unsung heroes who exposed to unknown dangers, some 300 engineers working in Fukushima day and night to contain the leaks of radioactivity in the complex of six reactors.
However, on Thursday had to leave some parts of the complex when the workers they replaced a cable near the unit number 3 were exposed to high pollution when standing on radioactive water.
All were taken to a hospital with possible radiation burns after they dropped water on his boots.
measures
Meanwhile, the authorities ordered the implementation of new emergency procedures in the area.
The government decided to evacuate a 20-kilometer radius around the plant in Fukushima and recommended to those living within a radius of between 20 and 30 miles to stay in their homes, although the Minister spokesman Yukio Edan , went further and advised them to voluntarily leave the area.
Operators of the plant, with the help of firefighters, resumed Friday on water injection units 2, 3 and 4 of the plant, while trying to revive the bombs to start cooling systems spraying them with seawater.
Official sources reported that the death toll from the earthquake and subsequent tsunami in Japan exceeded 10,000, while hundreds of thousands of people still live in temporary shelters.
Some 660,000 households still without water service and more than 209,000 remain without power.
Fears of radiation on the ground and beyond, radioactive particles were found in Iceland is the worst crisis in Japan since the Second World War.
adds As BBC correspondent in Tokyo, Mark Worthington, two Japanese tourists who arrived in China on a flight from Tokyo are being treated in hospital for high levels of radiation, although it is unclear how polluted.
addition to causing the worst nuclear accident since Chernobyl in 1986, the earthquake and tsunami left nearly 27,400 people dead or missing in the northeast.
More Information:
- EFE - The ASN does not rule out damage to the reactor vessel 3
- EFE - The high radioactivity makes efforts .. .