Japan on verge of nuclear disaster

The quake and the resulting tsunami have undoubtedly put Japan into a serious nuclear crisis.

Safety experts have been desperately trying to avert any nuclear disasters, and the Japanese government has made it clear to the people that the chemical radiation leaking from the reactor is high enough to cause harm to human health.

It has also pointed out that there is a possibility of more radiation leak.

The nuclear crisis poses a serious challenge to Japan, which is already struggling to cope with the devastation caused by 9.0 magnitude quake and tsunami.

Prime Minister Naoto Kan declared in a nationally televised statement that radiation has leaked from the four reactors of the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant in Fukushima province.

The Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant is the one that was hit the hardest by the colossal earthquake Friday, and was then attacked by tsunami.

Residents urged to stay indoors to avoid radiation
"The level seems very high, and there is still a very high risk of more radiation coming out," Kan said.

The prime minister has advised that people staying within 19 miles of the nuclear plant should stay indoors to keep themselves protected from the radiation. Failure to do so may expose them to radiation sickness, and the possibility of cancer.

The trouble began when the quake and the tsunami hit the the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant last Friday, and led to a power outage.

Loss of power resulted in failure of the cooling system of the nuclear plant, which triggered a series of dangerous explosions one after the other. Cooling is critical to the safety of a nuclear reactor.

The third blast rocked Unit 2 of the nuclear plant near a suppression pool. Shigekazu Omukai, a spokesman for Japan's nuclear safety agency, made it clear that the nuclear core was not damaged but that the bottom of the surrounding container could have been damaged.

Radiation level high enough to harm humans
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano announced that a fourth reactor in the complex was ablaze and that more radiation had leaked outside.

"Now we are talking about levels that can damage human health. These are readings taken near the area where we believe the releases are happening. Far away, the levels should be lower," he said.

The nuclear crisis poses a serious challenge to Japan, which is already struggling to cope with the devastation caused by 9.0 magnitude quake and tsunami.