Japan earthquake and tsunami followed by nuclear emergency concerns ( Washington Post)
The day after an earthquake and tsuanmi rocked Japan there was an explosion at one of Japan's nuclea power plants. As Steven Mufson reported:
In what may become the most serious nuclear power crisis since the Chernobyl disaster, the explosion followed large tremors at the Fukushima Daiichi Unit 1 reactor Saturday afternoon, injuring four workers who were struggling to get the quake-stricken unit under control.
The London-based World Nuclear Association reported Saturday that another worker at the Fukushima Daiichi Unit 1 died of his injuries after he became trapped in the crane operating console of the exhaust stack.
Japanese government officials said Saturday evening that the explosion did not damage the nuclear containment vessel of the Unit 1 reactor, and they suggested that a widespread radioactive leak could be avoided.
But local officials of Fukushima Prefecture said at least three patients at a hospital less than two miles from the damaged nuclear plant have been exposed to radiation, Japanese news media reported. The three, chosen for random radiation testing from 90 patients and staff who were awaiting evacuation by helicopter, needed to be decontaminated, although they have not yet shown physical symptoms of radiation poisoning, officials said.
Authorities were preparing to distribute potassium iodide tablets to help protect against thyroid cancer from radiation exposure, officials said.
Source : http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/03/12/AR2011031203471.html
