Update: By Shinichi Saoshiro and Chisa Fujioka Shinichi Saoshiro And Chisa Fujioka –
TOKYO (Reuters) – Workers were ordered to withdraw briefly from a stricken Japanese nuclear power plant on Wednesday after radiation levels surged, Kyodo news reported, a development that suggested the crisis was spiraling out of control.
Just hours earlier another fire broke out at the earthquake-crippled plant, which has sent low levels of radiation wafting into Tokyo in the past 24 hours, triggering both fear in the capital and international alarm.
France urged its nationals either to leave Japan or head to the south and asked Air France to provide planes for evacuation. In a statement, the French embassy in Tokyo said two planes were already on their way to the capital.What is going on with the six nuclear reactors that have been damaged by the tsunami following last week's mammoth earthquake?
News reports tonight indicate that the small number of workers authorized to clean up and contain the damage to some of these reactors have been withdrawn by the Japanese government.
This cannot be good news.
The only reason I can think of to remove these workers is that the situation has deteriorated to the point that their lives would be in danger is they stayed on site.
So what does that mean?
Stay tuned. But if you have family or friends anywhere in Japan, it might be time to advise them to leave the country...
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2 comments:
The news reports are very bleak. I have dear friends who live in Japan- many Japanese who do not see leaving as an option. I also have some dear friends who, although not Japanese, have made Japan their home. They have chosen to stay.
This is a time when the real heroes emerge- and it won't be the ones who in normal times are flashy and always in the spotlight- it will be those who, normally, may not even be noticed- but now they are proving themselves to be heroes.
I have already offered to take in my sister and her family who live in Tokyo, but they are all school teachers who are considered "emergency staff" in case that their schools become an emergency shelter and they cannot leave their positions. (Apparently, most public schools in Japan are designated as an emergency shelter equipped with emergency supplies, and teachers are expected to report to their school and run the shelter.) S.
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