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Walls fall off from Japan nuclear plant after blast
March 12, 2011, Saturday
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Online Edition
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WALLS of a building at nuclear power station crumbled today as smoke poured out following the failure of its cooling system in a powerful earthquake and tsunami.
It was not clear if the damaged building housed the reactor.
Several people were injured in the blast near the No. 1 reactor at the massive quake hit Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant today, public broadcaster NHK reported.
The blast occurred at around 4 pm (0700 GMT), it reported.
Footage on Japanese TV showed that the walls of one building had crumbled, leaving only a skeletal metal frame block standing. Puffs of smoke were spewing out of the plant. It was not clear what the building housed.
Pressure has been building up in the reactor - it's now twice the normal level - and Japan's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency told reporters today that the plant was venting "radioactive vapors." Officials said they were measuring radiation levels in the area.
The reactor in trouble has already leaked some radiation: Operators have detected eight times the normal radiation levels outside the facility and 1,000 times normal inside Unit 1's control room.
Ryohei Shiomi, an official with Japan's nuclear safety commission, said that even if there was a meltdown, it wouldn't affect people outside a 10-kilometer radius - an assertion that might need revising if the situation deteriorates. Most of the 51,000 residents living within the danger area had been evacuated, he said.
It was not clear if the damaged building housed the reactor.
Several people were injured in the blast near the No. 1 reactor at the massive quake hit Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant today, public broadcaster NHK reported.
The blast occurred at around 4 pm (0700 GMT), it reported.
Footage on Japanese TV showed that the walls of one building had crumbled, leaving only a skeletal metal frame block standing. Puffs of smoke were spewing out of the plant. It was not clear what the building housed.
Pressure has been building up in the reactor - it's now twice the normal level - and Japan's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency told reporters today that the plant was venting "radioactive vapors." Officials said they were measuring radiation levels in the area.
The reactor in trouble has already leaked some radiation: Operators have detected eight times the normal radiation levels outside the facility and 1,000 times normal inside Unit 1's control room.
Ryohei Shiomi, an official with Japan's nuclear safety commission, said that even if there was a meltdown, it wouldn't affect people outside a 10-kilometer radius - an assertion that might need revising if the situation deteriorates. Most of the 51,000 residents living within the danger area had been evacuated, he said.
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