Japan races to avert multiple nuclear meltdownsTOKYO, March 13, 2011
Japan’s nuclear crisis intensified on Sunday as authorities raced to combat the threat of multiple reactor meltdowns and more than 170,000 people evacuated the quake- and tsunami-savaged northeastern coast where fears spread over possible radioactive contamination.
Nuclear plant operators were frantically trying to keep temperatures down in a series of nuclear reactors — including one where officials feared a partial meltdown could be happening on Sunday — to prevent the disaster from growing worse.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano also said on Sunday that a hydrogen explosion could occur at Unit 3 of the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear complex, the latest reactor to face a possible meltdown. That follows a blast the day before in the power plant’s Unit 1, and operators attempted to prevent a meltdown there by injecting sea water into it.
“At the risk of raising further public concern, we cannot rule out the possibility of an explosion,” Mr. Edano said. “If there is an explosion, however, there would be no significant impact on human health.”
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