# 5397
Over the past couple of hours it has become clear that additional radiation is escaping from the damaged nuclear reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.
Exactly how bad these leaks really are - and the prospects for containing them in the near future – are subjects of intense speculation in the media right now.
At this point the amount of radiation reportedly released appears to be serious . . . but not catastrophic.
Certainly nothing approaching the scale of a Chernobyl.
Prime Minister Kan, in a nationally televised address during the past couple of hours, warned that the risk of additional radioactive leaks was increasing (see Bloomberg report).
NHK World Television is showing the following graphic indicating that people within 20 km of the Fukushima #1 (Daiichi) nuclear facility should evacuate while those living between 20 and 30 km should remain indoors.
The NHK World News bulletin reads:
People in 20-30km radius ordered to stay indoor
The government has newly ordered residents living within a 20 to 30 kilometer radius of the Fukushima No.1 nuclear power plant to stay indoors.
The previously-issued evacuation order for an area within 20 kilometers of the plant remains unchanged.
Tuesday, March 15, 2011 11:35 +0900 (JST)
Over the past several hours there have been reports of a fire at the #4 reactor (now reportedly extinguished), and a flurry of media reports on elevated radiation levels in and Japan’s stricken nuclear plants.
The good news is, the reactors at Fukushima Daini plant - located 10 km to the south of the Daiichi facility - are reportedly now safely in cold shutdown.
Japan Earthquake Update (15 March 2011, 03:35 CET)
by International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Monday, March 14, 2011 at 11:15pm
Japanese authorities yesterday reported to the IAEA at 21:05 CET that the reactors Units 1, 2 and 3 of the Fukushima Daini nuclear power plant are in cold shutdown status.
This means that the pressure of the water coolant is at around atmospheric level and the temperature is below 100 degrees Celsius. Under these conditions, the reactors are considered to be safely under control…
New reports are coming in by the minute.
Not all of them are in agreement, and so despite the intense coverage, the real situation on the ground remains shrouded in the fog of disaster reporting.
