Um, oops?
As if dealing with a magnitude 8.9 earthquake, and the resulting tsunami, wasn't enough, Japan is now dealing with a potential nuclear emergency, as the cooling system at the plant was disabled.
Japan's nuclear safety agency said pressure inside one of six boiling water reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi plant had risen to 1.5 times the level considered normal. To reduce the pressure, slightly radioactive vapor may be released. The agency said the radioactive element in the vapor would not affect the environment or human health.
Underscoring grave concerns about the Fukushima plant some 240 km north of Tokyo, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the U.S. air force had delivered coolant to avert a rise in the temperature of the facility's nuclear rods.
(The latter statement apparently confused nuclear experts, since what the plants use as coolant is, um, water.)
Today is the day Japan's Emergency Management forces earn their paycheques.
Japan's nuclear safety agency said pressure inside one of six boiling water reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi plant had risen to 1.5 times the level considered normal. To reduce the pressure, slightly radioactive vapor may be released. The agency said the radioactive element in the vapor would not affect the environment or human health.
Underscoring grave concerns about the Fukushima plant some 240 km north of Tokyo, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the U.S. air force had delivered coolant to avert a rise in the temperature of the facility's nuclear rods.
(The latter statement apparently confused nuclear experts, since what the plants use as coolant is, um, water.)
Today is the day Japan's Emergency Management forces earn their paycheques.