Fifty employees at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant -- dubbed the Fukushima 50 -- have put their health and well-being on the line as they try to prevent a total nuclear meltdown with conditions worsening at the plant while the National Police Agency has been asked to send a water cannon to cool a pool storing spent fuel rods at the Unit 4 reactor according to Japan news agency NHK.
Two of the workers are missing after a fire at the Unit 4 reactor according to the Sydney Morning Herald. Japanese officials have told the International Atomic Energy Agency that they are worried about the state of a pool holding spent nuclear fuel according to Reuters.
Japanese authorities have reported concerns about the condition of the spent nuclear fuel pool at Fukushima Daiichi Unit 3 and Unit 4 the IAEA told Reuters.
Japans defense minister says helicopters plan to drop water onto Unit 3 while officials prepare to use water cannons to spray water into Unit 4.
The workers were briefly pulled out of the plant after radiation levels spiked while they were dousing the nuclear reactors with seawater to cool them but were ordered to return to the site several hours later after radiation levels decreased. Officials believe the radiation levels spiked when white clouds drifted up from one of the reactors.
The government has now raised the maximum radiation dose allowed for nuclear workers to 250 millisieverts from 100 millisieverts.
The Fukushima 50 have been regularly rotated through the danger zone to minimize their radiation exposure from the nuclear power plant crippled by Fridays magnitude 9 earthquake and subsequent tsunami.
It is not known how much radiation has leaked from the crippled nuclear plant because the computer system that forecasts the spread of radioactivity has not been working due to malfunctioning monitoring posts according to NHK.
The Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency does not know when the system will be back in operation. The system called SPEEDI predicts how radiation will spread in case of leakage from nuclear power plants.
Japan ordered 140000 people to seal themselves indoors after a series of explosions and fires at the plant. Hospitals had to be evacuated and thousands were screened for radiation exposure.
Meanwhile officials in Ibaraki prefecture just south of Fukushima said radiation levels were about 300 times normal levels by late morning. While those levels are unhealthy for prolonged periods they are far from fatal.
Days after Fridays twin disasters millions of people were struggling along the coast with little food water or heat and already chilly temperatures dropped further as a cold front moved in. Up to 450000 people are staying in temporary shelters often sleeping on the floor of school gymnasiums.
In an extremely rare address to the nation Thursday Emperor Akihito expressed condolences and urged Japan not to give up.
It is important that each of us shares the difficult days that lie ahead said Akihito 77 a figure deeply respected across the country. I pray that we will all take care of each other and overcome this tragedy.
Japans Defense Ministry tells NHK that more than 25000 have been rescued and another 23000 are still believed to be stranded on islets near the coast.
Kyodo News reports that the mayor of northeastern city Ishinomaki says 10000 people were missing. Ishinomaki has a population of about 164000.
More than 13000 people are officially listed as dead or missing but most officials believe the final death toll will exceed 10000 people.
Since the quake and wave hit authorities have been struggling to avert an environmental catastrophe at the Fukushima Dai-ichi complex 140 miles north of Tokyo. The tsunami knocked out the backup diesel generators needed to keep nuclear fuel cool setting off the atomic crisis.
In the city of Fukushima about 40 miles inland from the nuclear complex hundreds of harried government workers police officers and others struggled to stay on top of the situation in a makeshift command center.
An entire floor of one of the prefectures office buildings had been taken over by people tracking evacuations power needs death tolls and food supplies.
In one room uniformed soldiers evaluated radiation readings on maps posted across a wall. In another senior officials were in meetings throughout the day while nuclear power industry representatives held impromptu briefings before rows of media cameras.
Wednesdays radiation spike was apparently the result of a release of pressure that had built up in the complexs Unit 2 reactor officials said. Steam and pressure build up in the reactors as workers try to cool the fuel rods leading to controlled pressure releases through vents -- as well as uncontrolled explosions.
A U.S. nuclear expert said he feared the worst.
Its more of a surrender said David Lochbaum a nuclear engineer who now heads the nuclear safety program for the Union of Concerned Scientists an activist group. Its not like you wait 10 days and the radiation goes away. In that 10 days things are going to get worse.
Its basically a sign that theres nothing left to do but throw in the towel Lochbaum said.
Edano said the government expects to ask the U.S. military for help though he did not elaborate. He said the government is still considering whether to accept offers of help from other countries.
We have received so much support from across the globe Noriyuki Shikata the Japanese prime ministers spokesman told Fox News Bret Baier on Special Report. U.S. forces in Japan have been actively helping the Japanese people.
In a rare address to the nation Wednesday Japans Emperor Akihito expressed his condolences to earthquake and tsunami victims and voiced his concern about the nuclear crisis.
There are six reactors at the plant. Units 1 2 and 3 which were operating last week shut down automatically when the quake hit. Since then all three have been rocked by explosions. Compounding the problems on Tuesday a fire broke out in Unit 4s fuel storage pond an area where used nuclear fuel is kept cool causing radioactivity to be released into the atmosphere.
Units 4 5 and 6 were shut at the time of the quake but even offline reactors have nuclear fuel -- either inside the reactors or in storage ponds -- that need to be kept cool.
Meanwhile the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency estimated that 70 percent of the rods have been damaged at the No. 1 reactor.
Japans national news agency Kyodo said that 33 percent of the fuel rods at the No. 2 reactor were damaged and that the cores of both reactors were believed to have partially melted.
We dont know the nature of the damage said Minoru Ohgoda spokesman for the countrys nuclear safety agency. It could be either melting or there might be some holes in them.
Meanwhile the outer housing of the containment vessel at the No. 4 unit erupted in flames early Wednesday said Hajimi Motujuku a spokesman for the plants operator Tokyo Electric Power Co.
Japans nuclear safety agency said fire and smoke could no longer be seen at Unit 4 but that it was unable to confirm that the blaze had been put out.
The International Atomic Energy Agency established a 19-mile no-fly zone around the plants perimeter on Tuesday as the U.S. Navy said they detected low levels of airborne radiation at Yokosuka and Atsugi bases 200 miles away from the nuclear plant according to Newscore.
Fox News has confirmed that a small number of U.S. service members have been exposed to radiation Tuesday and are being treated with potassium iodide pills. A U.S. military official says the risk is manageable.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Fifty employees at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant -- dubbed the Fukushima 50 -- have put their health and well-being on the line as they try to prevent a total nuclear meltdown with conditions worsening at the plant while the National Police Agency has been asked to send a water cannon to cool a pool storing spent fuel rods at the Unit 4 reactor according to Japan news agency NHK.
Two of the workers are missing after a fire at the Unit 4 reactor according to the Sydney Morning Herald. Japanese officials have told the International Atomic Energy Agency that they are worried about the state of a pool holding spent nuclear fuel according to Reuters.
Japanese authorities have reported concerns about the condition of the spent nuclear fuel pool at Fukushima Daiichi Unit 3 and Unit 4 the IAEA told Reuters.
Japans defense minister says helicopters plan to drop water onto Unit 3 while officials prepare to use water cannons to spray water into Unit 4.
The workers were briefly pulled out of the plant after radiation levels spiked while they were dousing the nuclear reactors with seawater to cool them but were ordered to return to the site several hours later after radiation levels decreased. Officials believe the radiation levels spiked when white clouds drifted up from one of the reactors.
The government has now raised the maximum radiation dose allowed for nuclear workers to 250 millisieverts from 100 millisieverts.
The Fukushima 50 have been regularly rotated through the danger zone to minimize their radiation exposure from the nuclear power plant crippled by Fridays magnitude 9 earthquake and subsequent tsunami.
It is not known how much radiation has leaked from the crippled nuclear plant because the computer system that forecasts the spread of radioactivity has not been working due to malfunctioning monitoring posts according to NHK.
The Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency does not know when the system will be back in operation. The system called SPEEDI predicts how radiation will spread in case of leakage from nuclear power plants.
Japan ordered 140000 people to seal themselves indoors after a series of explosions and fires at the plant. Hospitals had to be evacuated and thousands were screened for radiation exposure.
Meanwhile officials in Ibaraki prefecture just south of Fukushima said radiation levels were about 300 times normal levels by late morning. While those levels are unhealthy for prolonged periods they are far from fatal.
Days after Fridays twin disasters millions of people were struggling along the coast with little food water or heat and already chilly temperatures dropped further as a cold front moved in. Up to 450000 people are staying in temporary shelters often sleeping on the floor of school gymnasiums.
In an extremely rare address to the nation Thursday Emperor Akihito expressed condolences and urged Japan not to give up.
It is important that each of us shares the difficult days that lie ahead said Akihito 77 a figure deeply respected across the country. I pray that we will all take care of each other and overcome this tragedy.
Japans Defense Ministry tells NHK that more than 25000 have been rescued and another 23000 are still believed to be stranded on islets near the coast.
Kyodo News reports that the mayor of northeastern city Ishinomaki says 10000 people were missing. Ishinomaki has a population of about 164000.
More than 13000 people are officially listed as dead or missing but most officials believe the final death toll will exceed 10000 people.
Since the quake and wave hit authorities have been struggling to avert an environmental catastrophe at the Fukushima Dai-ichi complex 140 miles north of Tokyo. The tsunami knocked out the backup diesel generators needed to keep nuclear fuel cool setting off the atomic crisis.
In the city of Fukushima about 40 miles inland from the nuclear complex hundreds of harried government workers police officers and others struggled to stay on top of the situation in a makeshift command center.
An entire floor of one of the prefectures office buildings had been taken over by people tracking evacuations power needs death tolls and food supplies.
In one room uniformed soldiers evaluated radiation readings on maps posted across a wall. In another senior officials were in meetings throughout the day while nuclear power industry representatives held impromptu briefings before rows of media cameras.
Wednesdays radiation spike was apparently the result of a release of pressure that had built up in the complexs Unit 2 reactor officials said. Steam and pressure build up in the reactors as workers try to cool the fuel rods leading to controlled pressure releases through vents -- as well as uncontrolled explosions.
A U.S. nuclear expert said he feared the worst.
Its more of a surrender said David Lochbaum a nuclear engineer who now heads the nuclear safety program for the Union of Concerned Scientists an activist group. Its not like you wait 10 days and the radiation goes away. In that 10 days things are going to get worse.
Its basically a sign that theres nothing left to do but throw in the towel Lochbaum said.
Edano said the government expects to ask the U.S. military for help though he did not elaborate. He said the government is still considering whether to accept offers of help from other countries.
We have received so much support from across the globe Noriyuki Shikata the Japanese prime ministers spokesman told Fox News Bret Baier on Special Report. U.S. forces in Japan have been actively helping the Japanese people.
In a rare address to the nation Wednesday Japans Emperor Akihito expressed his condolences to earthquake and tsunami victims and voiced his concern about the nuclear crisis.
There are six reactors at the plant. Units 1 2 and 3 which were operating last week shut down automatically when the quake hit. Since then all three have been rocked by explosions. Compounding the problems on Tuesday a fire broke out in Unit 4s fuel storage pond an area where used nuclear fuel is kept cool causing radioactivity to be released into the atmosphere.
Units 4 5 and 6 were shut at the time of the quake but even offline reactors have nuclear fuel -- either inside the reactors or in storage ponds -- that need to be kept cool.
Meanwhile the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency estimated that 70 percent of the rods have been damaged at the No. 1 reactor.
Japans national news agency Kyodo said that 33 percent of the fuel rods at the No. 2 reactor were damaged and that the cores of both reactors were believed to have partially melted.
We dont know the nature of the damage said Minoru Ohgoda spokesman for the countrys nuclear safety agency. It could be either melting or there might be some holes in them.
Meanwhile the outer housing of the containment vessel at the No. 4 unit erupted in flames early Wednesday said Hajimi Motujuku a spokesman for the plants operator Tokyo Electric Power Co.
Japans nuclear safety agency said fire and smoke could no longer be seen at Unit 4 but that it was unable to confirm that the blaze had been put out.
The International Atomic Energy Agency established a 19-mile no-fly zone around the plants perimeter on Tuesday as the U.S. Navy said they detected low levels of airborne radiation at Yokosuka and Atsugi bases 200 miles away from the nuclear plant according to Newscore.
Fox News has confirmed that a small number of U.S. service members have been exposed to radiation Tuesday and are being treated with potassium iodide pills. A U.S. military official says the risk is manageable.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
