Fears of meltdown calm after explosion at Japanese nuclear plant
MARK MACKINNON
Tokyo— Globe and Mail Update
Published
Last updated
The radiation leaking from a troubled nuclear reactor north of Tokyo is decreasing after an explosion blew the roof off the facility, Japan's government spokesman said, amid fears of a meltdown one day after Japan was struck by a massive earthquake and tsunami.
Though government experts said the chance of the reactor sustaining serious damage remained low, residents were being evacuated from a 20-kilometre radius around the 40-year-old Daiichi 1 reactor plant in Fukushima prefecture Saturday. The reactor's cooling system failed after the plant was struck by the earthquake and tsunami.
Spokesman Yukio Edano says the metal container sheltering a nuclear reactor was not affected by an explosion that destroyed the building it's in. The radiation around the plant did not rise after the blast but instead is decreasing, he said, adding that pressure in the reactor was also decreasing.
“We are now trying to analyze what is behind the explosion,” said government spokesman Yukio Edano. “We ask everyone to take action to secure safety.”
The blast came as the plant’s operator, Tokyo Electric Power Co., was racing to reduce pressures in the reactor core. Footage on Japanese TV showed that the walls of one building had crumbled, leaving only a skeletal metal frame standing. Puffs of smoke were spewing out of the plant, which is about 260 kilometres north of the Japanese capital and its metropolitan population of 35 million.
“An unchecked rise in temperature could cause the core to essentially turn into a molten mass that could burn through the reactor vessel,” risk information service Stratfor said in a report before the explosion. “This may lead to a release of an unchecked amount of radiation into the containment building that surrounds the reactor.”
Japan has declared states of emergency at five reactors in two power plants since Friday, with the Daiichi 1 reactor the most troubled. Operators have detected eight times the normal radiation levels outside the facility and 1,000 times normal inside Unit 1's control room. Some radiation has already been released.
Wind in the region is weak and headed northeast, out to sea, according to the Meteorological Agency.
The Globe's Mark MacKinnon on Twitter
Kan: "And realize, in future years, that this event paved the way for a new Japan. I promise this." (via@timeouttokyo)by @markmackinnon about 1 hour, 34 minutes ago
Japanese PM Naoto Kan doing nationally televised press conference now. Could be defining moment for him.by @markmackinnon about 1 hour, 36 minutes ago
@ThomasFETT @edgycation I'm right now on the Keisei line. Not sure which others are running. Many aren't.by @markmackinnon about 1 hour, 38 minutes ago
The Japanese sitting around me on the train from Narita to Tokyo remain calm and cheerful. Most checking news on mobile phones.by @markmackinnon about 2 hours, 11 minutes ago
RT @hamish6PM: My cameraman is worried about faulty seatbelt. Just reminded him we are driving towards a possible nuclear disasterby @markmackinnon about 2 hours, 19 minutes ago
BBC has video on its site of the explosion at the Fukushima nuclear plant. I hope it looks worse than it is: http://bbc.in/eehWrIby @markmackinnon about 2 hours, 24 minutes ago
Some trains indeed running now between Narita airport and central Tokyo...by @markmackinnon about 2 hours, 25 minutes ago
NYT news alert: Japanese Official Confirms Explosion at Nuclear Plant - 150 miles north of Tokyoby @markmackinnon about 2 hours, 43 minutes ago
Stranded passengers anxiously watch the news at Tokyo's Narita Airport: http://twitpic.com/48qcipby @markmackinnon about 2 hours, 58 minutes ago
Terminal - Bedrolls of passengers stranded at Tokyo's Narita airport: http://twitpic.com/48qbnzby @markmackinnon about 3 hours, 2 minutes ago
The drama at the Fukushima nuclear plant was unfolding even as Japanese rescue officials were still trying to get a handle on the scale of the disaster caused by the earthquake and tsunami that struck northern Honshu island on Friday.
The official death toll rose to 574 Saturday, but many more were believed to be buried in the debris left strewn across the island by the 10-metre high wall of water that was launched by the initial 8.9 magnitude earthquake just offshore. Local media reports estimated that at least 1,300 people had been killed.
Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan toured the disaster site by helicopter on Saturday. “Most of houses along the coastline were washed away, and fire broke out there,” he said after returning to Tokyo. “I realized the extremely serious damage the tsunami caused.”
The transport ministry said all highways from Tokyo leading to quake-hit areas were closed, except for emergency vehicles. Mobile communications were spotty and calls to the devastated areas were going unanswered.
There have been more than 125 aftershocks since Friday’s initial quake, many of them above magnitude 6.0.
With files from the Associated Press
(source: the globe and mail_
==============================================
No comments:
Post a Comment