Troubles Mount at Quake-Stricken Japanese Nuclear Reactor
A boy has his radiation level checked in Fukushima Prefecture, northeastern Japan, March 13, 2011 after being evacuated from a town located near the troubled Fukushima nuclear power plant.
Officials raced to control three nuclear reactors in the earthquake-stricken northeast of Japan Monday to prevent a possible meltdown at the Fukushima nuclear power plant.
An explosion blew the roof and outer walls off one of the reactors Monday, as engineers were pumping seawater to cool down a second reactor to keep its fuel rods from melting.
Top government spokesman Yukio Edano said Monday that the cooling would proceed, and hopefully stabilize the situation.
An official of the Tokyo Electric Power Company which operates the power plant told Japan’s NHK television he could "not deny" that fuel rods in the second reactor had been exposed.
If the heat from a meltdown ruptures the reactor’s containment vessel, it could permit a major release of radiation with serious health consequences.
Evacuations
Almost 200,000 people have already been evacuated from areas around Fukushima and other troubled nuclear power stations. About 600 people still in homes near the Fukushima plant were advised to remain indoors.
A first explosion at one of the three reactors took place Saturday. Officials say that neither that blast nor Monday’s explosion broke through the containment vessels, and they did not believe there had been a major release of radiation.
Engineers have also vented steam from the plants to release a build-up of pressure. Hydrogen in the steam is believed to have mixed with oxygen, causing the two explosions.
While concerns focused on the nuclear crisis, a massive rescue and relief effort continued Monday, as millions of people faced a fourth night without heat or food.
The total death toll from the quake and tsunami is expected to reach more than 10,000.
Newly-released images of the disaster released Monday on Japanese television showed how the waters swept inland, crushing houses, cars, boats as witnesses cried out in fear.
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