Fukushima/Tokyo, March 15: Japan’s nuclear crisis assumed dangerous dimensions today as two more blasts rocked the quake-crippled Fukushima plant spewing large amounts of radioactive material which may float towards Tokyo, with Premier Naoto Kan warning that there was a “very high risk” of further leakage.
The hydrogen explosions at No.2 and No.4 reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi plant this morning prompted the government to announce that the radiation had reached harmful levels.
A fire was also reported around 9:40 am local time at the No.4 reactor, where spent nuclear fuels were stored, but it was extinguished later, according to Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), the plant’s operator.
The blast at No.2 reactor at 6:10 am appeared to have damaged one of its containment systems for the first time, triggering fears about more serious radioactive leaks.
—PTI