KORIYAMA, Japan • A second hydrogen explosion occurred today at Japan's stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, Japan's chief Cabinet secretary said. The blast was similar to an earlier one at a different unit of the facility, which was crippled by Friday's earthquake and tsunami, the Cabinet secretary, Yukio Edano, said.
Officials were racing to stave off multiple reactor meltdowns. More than 180,000 people have evacuated the area, and as many as 160 may have been exposed to radiation.
A massive column of smoke was seen belching from the plant's No. 3 unit. Edano says people within a 12-mile radius were ordered inside. Associated Press journalists felt the explosion 30 miles away.
But Edano says the reactor's inner containment vessel holding nuclear rods is intact, allaying some fears of the risk to the environment and public.
Meanwhile, soldiers and officials along a stretch of Japan's northeastern coast warned residents that the area could be hit by another tsunami today and ordered them to higher ground.
Before the power plant blast, sirens around Soma, which was battered by Friday's tsunami, went off and public address systems ordered residents to safety.
Four nuclear plants in northeastern Japan have reported damage. Operators have lost the ability to cool three reactors at Daiichi and three more at another nearby complex using usual procedures, after the quake knocked out power and the tsunami swamped backup generators.
Operators have been dumping seawater into Units 1 and 3 in a last-ditch measure to cool the reactors. They were getting water into the other four reactors with cooling problems without resorting to corrosive sea water, which will probably make the reactors unusable.
Edano said the radioactivity released into the environment so far was so small that it didn't pose any health threats.
Original Article: http://www.stltoday.com/news/national/article_d54e36f4-4911-5f57-b858-abc11fe09378.html
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