Japan raises nuclear alert to level 5
March 18th, 2011 - 8:22 pm ICT by ANITokyo, Mar 18(ANI): Japan has raised the alert level at the stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant from four to five on a seven-point international scale for atomic incidents.
Level 5 is used to describe an accident with “wider consequences.”
The crisis is now two levels below Ukraine’s 1986 Chernobyl disaster. It also places the situation there on a par with 1979’s Three Mile Island nuclear accident in the US.
The crisis was prompted by last week’s 9.0-magnitude earthquake and tsunami, which has left at least 16,000 people dead or missing.
Meanwhile, soldiers from Japan’s Self Defense Force sprayed water onto the No. 3 reactor using fire trucks and water cannons, continuing efforts to keep spent fuel rods covered so they do not release massive amounts of radiation into the atmosphere.
Leaving the spent rods uncovered allows them to overheat causing them catch on fire and release significant amounts of radiation into the atmosphere. Such a problem would be extremely difficult to solve. (ANI)
- Fukushima workers hospitalised with skin lesions after radiation exposure - Mar 24, 2011
- Japan raises severity level of nuclear crisis to 5 - Mar 18, 2011
- Japan has 48 hours to avoid another Chernobyl: Experts - Mar 17, 2011
- Japan resumes cooling operations at quake-hit nuke plant - Mar 21, 2011
- Nuclear radiation levels from Fukushima nuclear power plant not harmful to humans: IAEA - Mar 19, 2011
- Radiation levels high in food, Japan fights n-fallout (Roundup) - Mar 19, 2011
- Fukushima crisis level raised to highest level-7 (Lead) - Apr 12, 2011
- Japan "racing against time" to prevent nuclear disaster: IAEA - Mar 19, 2011
- Japan nuke crisis not as bad as Chernobyl, but worse than Three Mile Island: Experts - Apr 07, 2011
- Japanese government declares 'cold shutdown' at Fukushima nuclear plant - Dec 16, 2011
- No increased radiation in India: atomic panel - Apr 12, 2011
- Japan nuclear crisis far from over: IAEA chief - Mar 27, 2011
- Fresh radioactive water leakage at Fukushima n-plant - Jan 22, 2012
- Japan: Thyroid gland irregularities found in evacuated youths from Fukushima - Oct 06, 2011
- Japan n-plant crisis may be worse than Chernobyl (Second Lead) - Apr 12, 2011
Tags: atmosphere, chernobyl disaster, consequences, fire trucks, fuel rods, fukushima, japan, magnitude earthquake, massive amounts, nuclear accident, nuclear alert, nuclear plant, radiation, reactor, self defense, three mile island, tokyo, tsunami, ukraine, water cannons