The Japan has increased the level of seriousness of the nuclear crisis to be on an equal footing with Chernobyl. Photography: Ho / Reuters.Japan has increased the level of seriousness of the nuclear crisis to a maximum seven, involving the emergency at the Fukushima Daiichi electric power on an equal footing with Chernobyl.
Representatives of the nuclear and industrial safety agency [NISA] confirmed that the level of crisis had been raised from five to seven on the scale of the nuclear event and radiological international [INES].
But they said that the new rating reflects the initial impact of the nuclear crisis, adding that radiation levels have fallen since dramatically.
Scale, designed by the international agency of Atomic Energy [IAEA], incidents class and nuclear and radiological accidents by severity from one to seven.
Level seven incidents involve a major update of the radiation with widespread health and the environment, in accordance with the IAEA.
These days, Japanese officials had suggested it was not necessary to raise the level of severity of five, which applies to the Three Mile Island accident in 1979.
A spokesman for Nisa said the decision to raise the level of the major accident status does not mean that the Japanese factory was the same threat to public health or similarly big releases of radiation than the 1986 Chernobyl disaster in question.
"Chernobyl has exploded so that the reactors were still in activity, which is completely different from the situation in Fukushima,"Hidehiko Nishiyama said.""
He added that the decision was taken one month after the accident because the experts needed time to analyze the data.
The Japan Nuclear Safety Commission estimated that the reactors of Fukushima had released up to 10 000 terabequerels 131 of radioactive iodine in the air for several hours after that they were damaged in the earthquake on March 11 and the tsunami.
Emissions of radioactive substances from Fukushima Daiichi was approximately 10% of that of Chernobyl has detected, Nishiyama said.
The nuclear safety commission said emissions have fallen since to below a terabecquerel per hour, adding that he was considering the total amount of radioactive material was released.
Some experts criticized the move as excessive. "I think it raise the level of Chernobyl is excessive," said Murray Jennex, an associate professor at San Diego State University. "It is far from this level." Chernobyl was terrible - it blew and they had no containment and they were blocked.
"Containment [Japan] was holding, the only thing that does not have is the swimming pool of fuel that caught fire.". I do not see those as the same event. If they want to do, that is. "I think that they are currently too pessimistic."
Tuesday decision was taken after the Government said it would expand the evacuation area near the plant to include five communities located outside the current prohibited zone of 20 kilometres.
About 70,000 people living within a radius of 20 kilometres of the plant were already evacuated, while the 130,000 living between 20 and 30 km learned it to leave voluntarily or stay indoors.
The latest evacuation, which could take at least a week to complete, was invited by the lack of progress in fixing the damaged plant cooling systems and concerns about the effects on public health.
"These new evacuation plans are intended to ensure safety against the risks of life [in the affected communities] for half a year or a year," Government spokesman Chief, Yukio Edano said.
The Japan East and northeast regions were hit by two big aftershocks in the past 24 hours.
Shortly after 8 a.m. Tuesday, a magnitude 6.3 earthquake that struck off the coast of Chiba Prefecture of coast was followed by reports of a fire exit at the Fukushima Daichi No. 4 reactor. The fire was extinguished quickly, said responsible.
Earthquake is one of the more than 400 aftershocks above magnitude 5 have hit the region since March 11.
In one of the few signs of progress, operator of the plant, Tokyo Electric Power [Tepco], said that he had ceased to low-level radioactive water pumping in the buildings of the reactor in the sea.
The measure controversial, which has attracted criticism from neighbouring China and the Korea of the South, was designed to release highly contaminated water storage space.
But engineers say they are not more close to restoration of the plant cooling system; until they do, they will be unable to cool the overheating of the fuel rods and stabilize the six reactors at the installation.
Monday, the President of the Tepco, Masataka Shimizu, made his first visit to Fukushima Prefecture since the beginning of the crisis.
"I would like to apologize deeply once more for causing physical and psychological difficulties," he said. However, the Governor of the Prefecture, refused to meet him.
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