Radiation Temporarily Forces Last Workers Out Of Nuclear Plant
CNN reports:
Tokyo (CNN) -- Officials asked workers at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant to evacuate temporarily Wednesday after a white cloud of smoke rose above the plant and radiation levels spiked.
Workers were "asked to withdraw to a safe area," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said. Authorities later allowed them to return after radiation levels dropped, the Tokyo Electric Power Company said.
Radiation levels at the plant have surged and dropped repeatedly over the past few days. The most recent spike "probably" occurred "because the containment vessel in reactor No. 3 has been damaged," a spokesman for Japan's nuclear safety agency later told reporters.
Edano said the smoke or vapor above the plant may have been caused by breach in the containment structure around the No. 3 reactor's containment vessel -- the steel and concrete shell that insulates radioactive material inside.
It was the second visible sign of trouble at the earthquake-damaged nuclear plant Wednesday.
Earlier in the day, firefighters battled a blaze in the plant's No. 4 reactor building.
Since the 9.0-magnitude earthquake and the resulting tsunami Friday, the plant has suffered a series of setbacks that have heightened fears about the possibility of widespread radiation contamination.
A hydrogen explosion took place at the plant's No. 2 reactor Tuesday. Hydrogen explosions had previously occurred in the plant's No. 1 and No. 3 reactors.
Another fire had broken out Tuesday in the No. 4 reactor. While it burned, radiation levels at the plant increased to about 167 times the average dose, the International Atomic Energy Agency said.
That dose quickly diminished with distance from the plant, and radiation fell back to levels where it posed no immediate public health threat, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said.
But the deteriorating situation and concerns about a potential shift in wind direction that could send radiation toward populated areas prompted authorities to warn people as far as 18.6 miles (30 kilometers) from the plant to stay inside.
"There is still a very high risk of further radioactive material coming out," Prime Minister Naoto Kan said Tuesday, asking people to remain calm.
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