Japan: strong 7.4 aftershock kills four and triggers second nuclear plant leaks
Japan: strong 7.4 aftershock kills four and triggers second nuclear plant leaks
A strong aftershock in Japan has killed four people and resulted in toxic
water leakages from a second nuclear power plant.
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A strong aftershock in Japan has killed a further four people Photo: EPA
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The aftershock, which was focused on the same region devastated in the March 11 disasters, triggered an immediate tsunami warning which was later lifted Photo: EPA
By Danielle Demetriou, in Tokyo
9:20AM BST 08 Apr 2011
A further 100 people were also injured in the 7.4 magnitude aftershock which
shook the Miyagi prefecture region late Thursday night, resulting in
widespread blackouts, motorway closures and swaying buildings as far away as
Tokyo.
As a result of the quake, water leaked out of spent fuel pools at Onagawa
Nuclear Power Plant in northeast Japan, although there were no changes in
radiation levels outside the complex, according to Tohoku Electric Power,
its operators.
The leakages were reported from three reactors at the plant, which was earlier
shut down safely after it was hit by a 43-foot tsunami triggered by the
March 11 earthquake.
"We detected a small rise in radiation levels inside the reactor buildings,
and are trying to find the locations of the leaks,” said an official for
Tohoku Electric Power. “We see no change in radiation levels outside the
reactor buildings.”
The aftershock, which was focused on the same region devastated in the March
11 disasters, triggered an immediate tsunami warning which was later lifted.
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Officials at the earlier damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant briefly
evacuated workers following the aftershock, before continuing with efforts
to restore control at the site.
Workers at the Fukushima plant are currently involved in injecting nitrogen
into reactor No 1 as a “preventative measure” to prevent the risk of a
hydrogen gas explosion.
Two of the world’s largest concrete pumps were reported to be making their way
from the United States to the Fukushima plant, to help officials in the
attempts to restore crucial cooling functions.
As a result of on-going efforts, radiation levels around the plant are
believed to be subsiding to “a level very close to background,”, according
to the latest reports from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
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