Fukushima No. 3 reactor's container feared damaged: Edano
Wednesday, March 16, 2011 at 07:30AM KYODO
Japan's nuclear crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 power station showed no signs of abating Wednesday, five days after a mega earthquake crippled it, with authorities pointing to possible damage to the No. 3 reactor and the release of radioactive steam, and another fire hitting the No. 4 reactor.
If the plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. and authorities confirm damage to the No. 3 reactor's containment vessel, it will be the second among the plant's six reactors to have suffered damage to the steel containment key to enclosing harmful radioactive substances, meaning steps they have taken to avoid a further critical situation are not working.
Top government spokesman Yukio Edano told a press conference in the morning that smoke has been recognized from about 8:30 a.m. around the No.3 reactor and said, ''As we saw in the No. 2 unit, steam has been released from the (No. 3) reactor's containment vessel.''
At the No. 2 reactor, the pressure-suppression chamber connected to its containment vessel was damaged following an apparent hydrogen explosion early Tuesday.
The government's nuclear safety agency separately said that the radiation level briefly reached 10 millisievert per hour at the plant's entrance at 10:40 a.m. Wednesday, but added that it was possibly due to radioactive substances emitted from the No. 2 reactor.
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