Japan on the brink, another fire stokes nuclear crisis

[Cheddi Chinnodu]

[size=12pt]Japan’s nuclear nightmare worsened on Wednesday with radiation levels surging at a quake-crippled reactor at Fukushima plant, forcing authorities to briefly pull out emergency workers even as another fire erupted slowing desperate efforts to avert a meltdown.

With the crisis appearing to be going beyond control, Japan’s Emperor Akihito in a rare video address to the nation said: “I sincerely hope from the bottom of my heart that people will, hand in hand, overcome these difficult times by treating each other with compassion.”

About 50 employees were believed to be working at the reactor unit 3 at the plant, 220 km north of Tokyo, to avert a meltdown when the radiation levels surged suddenly.

The Government’s nuclear safety agency said the radiation levels briefly reached 10 millisievert per hour at the plant’s entrance at 10.40 am local time, but added that it was possibly due to radioactive substances emitted from the unit 2 reactor.

Authorities were also considering spraying boric acid by helicopters to prevent spent nuclear fuel rods at another troubled reactor, unit 4, from reaching criticality again, restarting a chain reaction, Kyodo news agency reported.

“Workers cannot carry out even minimal work at the plant. Because of the radiation risk, we are on standby,” said Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano.

The cores of both reactors are believed to have partially melted with their cooling functions lost in the wake of Friday’s massive earthquake and massive tsunami that left over 11,000 people dead or unaccounted for.

A fire broke out again at the unit 4 reactor, which was already posing the risk of leaks of high-level radioactive material, but flames were no longer visible about 30 minutes later, according to TEPCO. An estimated 70 per cent of the fuel rods have been damaged at the unit 1 reactor and 33 per cent at the unit 2 reactor, TEPCO said.

The unit 3 reactor was, however, drawing more attention after live TV footage of the plant showed white smoke coming out around 10 am local time, Kyodo reported.

Aftershocks also continued to rock Japan, with a strong quake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.0 jolting Tokyo and its vicinity.[/size]