Japan nuke plant hit by third blast in four days
March 15th, 2011 - 8:19 am ICT by ANISoma (Japan), Mar.15 (ANI): The earthquake-damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant in northeast Japan experienced its third explosion in four days early on Tuesday.
Agency reports quoted a spokesman of Japan’s Nuclear Safety Agency as saying that the blast at Daiichi Unit 2 plant occurred at 6.10 a.m. local time.
The plant’s owner, Tokyo Electric Power Co, said the explosion occurred near the suppression pool in the reactor’s containment vessel. The pool was later found to have a defect.
Tuesday’s blast followed two hydrogen explosions at the plant, the latest on Monday, as authorities continue to struggle to prevent the catastrophic release of radiation in the area devastated by last Friday’s tsunami.
The troubles at the Daiichi complex began when Friday’s massive quake and tsunami in Japan’s northeast knocked out power, crippling cooling systems needed to keep nuclear fuel from melting down.
International scientists have said there are serious dangers but not at the level of the 1986 blast in Chernobyl. Japanese authorities were injecting seawater as a coolant of last resort, and advising nearby residents to stay inside to avoid contamination.
Tokyo Electric Power said some employees of the power plant were temporarily evacuated following Tuesday morning’s blast.
The accidents have injured 15 workers and military personnel and exposed up to 190 people to elevated radiation.
Friday’s twin disasters have flattened entire communities and may have left more than 10,000 people dead.
The crisis also has raised global concerns about the safety of such reactors at a time when they have enjoyed a resurgence as an alternative to fossil fuels. (ANI)
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