Japan ups nuke crisis severity to match Chernobyl

[Gnnr]

Japan ups nuke crisis severity to match Chernobyl

By YURI KAGEYAMA and RYAN NAKASHIMA, Associated Press – 18 mins ago

TOKYO – Japan raised the crisis level at its crippled nuclear plant Tuesday to a severity on par with the 1986 Chernobyl disaster, citing high overall radiation leaks that have contaminated the air, tap water, vegetables and seawater.

Japanese nuclear regulators said they raised the rating from 5 to 7 — the highest level on an international scale of nuclear accidents overseen by the International Atomic Energy Agency — after new assessments of radiation leaks from the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant since it was disabled by the March 11 tsunami.

The new ranking signifies a "major accident" that includes widespread effects on the environment and health, according to the Vienna-based IAEA. But Japanese officials played down any health effects and stressed that the harm caused by Chernobyl still far outweighs that caused by the Fukushima plant.

The revision came a day after the government added five communities to a list of places people should leave to avoid long-term radiation exposure. A 12-mile (20-kilometer) radius already had been cleared around the plant.

The news was received with chagrin by residents in Iitate, one of the five communities, where high levels of radiation have been detected in the soil. The village of 6,200 people is about 40 kilometers from the Fukushima plant.

"It's very shocking to me," said Miyuki Ichisawa, 52, who runs a coffee shop in Iitate. "Now the government is officially telling us this accident is at the same level of Chernobyl."

Japanese officials said the leaks from the Fukushima plant so far amount to a tenth of the radiation emitted in the Chernobyl disaster, but said they eventually could exceed Chernobyl's emissions if the crisis continues.

"This reconfirms that this is an extremely major disaster. We are very sorry to the public, people living near the nuclear complex and the international community for causing such a serious accident," said Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano.

But Edano told reporters there was no "direct health damage" so far from the crisis. "The accident itself is really serious, but we have set our priority so as not to cause health damage."

Hironobu Unesaki, a nuclear physicist at Kyoto University Research Reactor Institute, said the revision was not a cause for worry, that it had to do with the overall release of radiation and was not directly linked to health dangers. He said most of the radiation was released early in the crisis and that the reactors still have mostly intact containment vessels surrounding their nuclear cores.

The change was "not directly connected to the environmental and health effects," Unesaki said. "Judging from all the measurement data, it is quite under control. It doesn't mean that a significant amount of release is now continuing."

Prime Minister Naoto Kan, in a national television address, urged the public not to panic and to focus on recovering from the disaster.

"Right now, the situation of the nuclear reactors at the Fukushima plant has been stabilizing step by step. The amount of radiation leaks is on the decline," he said. "But we are not at the stage yet where we can let our guards down."

Continued aftershocks following the 9.0-magnitude megaquake on March 11 are impeding work on stabilizing the Fukushima plant — the latest a 6.3-magnitude one Tuesday that prompted plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co., or TEPCO, to temporarily pull back workers.

Read more

I really thought they'd be able to contain it.

[juicyjay]

damn bro

[Okinawandrifter87]

My prayers and thoughts go out to all of Japan

[GUNMETALV35]

It's hard to tell what was actually said. The Washington Post reported that it is labeled as a level 7 nuclear accident (the same as Chernobyl) but the radiation leakage is only one-tenth of that of Chernobyl.

I'm sure the I.A.E.A. is just being pro-active at labeling it as such so the collateral damage is contained more efficiently. It just be that it sounds worse than it is when you read the headlines. I could only hope so for the people there.

[axiomatik]

The comparisons to Chernobyl are really misleading. Yes, the accident now has the same classification as Chernobyl, but that's only because the scale stops at 7 (Major Accident). This is a Major Accident, and so was Chernobyl. But Chernobyl was still much, much worse than Fukushima so far, but it can't be classified any higher because that is high as the scale goes.

[itwillboost]

The worst part of this is going to be felt in the Ocean. Hopefully they can work with that some how. My thoughts go out to Japan.

[exitspeed]

What is going to happen to the Sushi industry there?

[lawrenceyang]

Originally Posted by exitspeed

What is going to happen to the Sushi industry there?

hella price hike =p

[Agamemnon]

Originally Posted by exitspeed

What is going to happen to the Sushi industry there?

Glow in the dark Hamachi

[Pure_JDM]

Originally Posted by Agamemnon

Glow in the dark Hamachi

lol, they'll export these "exotic" fish to America, where we'll purchase them at a premium, I'm sure. I love Premium Sushi rolls, but they're getting boring... Oh wait, this roll glows? Sweeeet.

[Nismo95]

Originally Posted by exitspeed

What is going to happen to the Sushi industry there?

sky rockett!!!