New fire hits Japan plant reactor - World - CBC News
Another fire broke out early Wednesday at the crippled Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant, operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. said.
The plant operator said later the new fire was the same blaze that erupted Tuesday, and that it had not been fully extinguished. No further details were immediately available, but workers were trying to contain the fire at reactor No. 4.
Company spokesman Hajimi Motujuku said the blaze erupted early Wednesday in the outer housing of the reactor's containment vessel. Japan's nuclear safety agency also confirmed the fire, whose cause was not immediately known.
The fire comes a day after the plant was hit by a third explosion at one reactor and the fire at the fuel storage pool atop No. 4.
On Tuesday, more than 200,000 people living near a quake-damaged nuclear plant in northeastern Japan were urged to leave the area or stay indoors after government officials raised concerns about radiation levels around the facility and workers dealt with more problems there.
Radiation measurements in the area of the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant showed harmful levels Tuesday, government officials said.
The levels at the plant, located about 270 kilometres northeast of Tokyo, dropped later in the day, said chief cabinet secretary Yukio Edano.
"This high level of radiation is just temporarily reading, so in the long run it is not particularly dangerous, and the reading is now getting lower," he told reporters.
However, concerns remained at the nuclear complex, which was crippled after the March 11 deadly earthquake and tsunami.
On Tuesday, embattled employees at the complex had to deal with a third explosion at one reactor, a fire in a rooftop fuel storage pool of No. 4, which was offline for maintenance, and the dangerous spike in radiation.
Prime Minister Naoto Kan urged people to stay calm but said there was a "high risk" that more radioactive material will be released as workers struggle to prevent further explosions and leaks at the plant.
He reiterated the call for people living within 20 kilometres of the plant to leave the area, and advised people living within 30 kilometres of the plant to seal themselves indoors. About 70,000 people in the 20-kilometre zone have left already and about 140,000 remain within the new expanded zone.
Japanese officials also introduced a 30-kilometre no-fly zone around the nuclear plant to prevent planes from spreading the radiation.
Kan also urged people to stay calm, saying technicians were doing everything possible to keep the reactors cool and prevent further damage.
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