Explosion (of 2nd reactor building) at Japan nuclear plant

A second reactor building at the Fukushima Daiichi atomic power plant has exploded but officials say there is a “low possibility” of a dangerous radiation leak

Monday 14 March 2011

Justin McCurry in Tokyo

guardian.co.uk

A screen grab taken from live news footage by Japanese public broadcaster NHK on March 14, 2011 shows a collasped building (CR) at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power station number three reactor after a hydrogen explosion. Photograph: -/AFP/Getty Images

Japan’s nuclear crisis has deepened after a second reactor building at the Fukushima Daiichi atomic power plant exploded on Monday morning. Officials said there was a low possibility that the blast had released radioactive material into the air.

The wall of the building housing the No. 3 reactor collapsed in the explosion, which occurred at 11:01am local time.

Tokyo Electric Power Company said three workers have been injured and seven are missing. Television footage showed a brief red flash followed by a large plume of white smoke.

The blast came two days after a similar explosion at the No. 1 reactor, which occurred after hydrogen ignited when it mixed with oxygen.

Officials had said that coolant levels were lower than usual in the reactor and pressure was higher than normal at the time of the explosion.

The government’s top spokesman, Yukio Edano, said there was a “low possibility” of a dangerous radiation leak, adding that water was still being pumped into the reactor to cool it down. The Dainiichi plant and neighbouring Fukushima Daini plants have suffered multiple failures if cooling systems after Friday’s earthquake and tsunami on Japan’s north-east coast.

There were no immediate reports of a rise in radiation levels around the plant, but Edano said the government was still collecting information.

He told reporters that the head of the plant had told him the reactor and its container vessel were both still intact.

About 600 people still living within a 20 km radius of the plant, 150 miles north of Tokyo, have been ordered to remain indoors.

A spokesman for Japan’s nuclear and industrial safety agency spokesman said a worst-case scenario had been avoided. But he added that residents inside the 20km exclusion zone had been ordered to stay indoors and close all windows.

The explosion coincided with tsunami warning for the coasts of Fukushima and Iwate prefectures. But the meteorological agency later said there was no indication that a tsunami was about to arrive.