sense everyone viewing this has a internet connection, im sure youve heard about the tsunami in japan. one of their nuclear reactors is acting up, hopefully theres not a meltdown but this is pretty close to a being chernobyl-esk type situation.
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/ondeadline/post/2011/03/radiation-1000-times-normal-detected-around-crippled-japanese-plant/1Update at 6:25 p.m. ET: Japan's nuclear safety agency is preparing to issue what Kyodo News called "an unprecedented order" directing the Tokyo Electric Power Co. to open a valve at the earthquake-crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant to release pressure from a reactor that is in danger of overheating.
Original post: Radiation 1,000 times normal has been detected inside a crippled nuclear plant in northeastern Japan where utility managers have released potentially radioactive steam to reduce mounting reactor pressure, the Kyodo News service is reporting, citing the government's safety agency.
That suggests radioactivity could spread around Tokyo Electric Power's Fukushima No. 1 plant, where thousands of residents within a 6-miles were ordered to leave before dawn Saturday.
A state of emergency has been declared at the plant, one of the world's largest. Its primary cooling system was damaged by Friday's magnitude 8.9 earthquake.
There's potential danger to the public from three of at least 11 nuclear power reactors that are shut down, the Christian Science Monitor reports.
Managers at Fukushima No. 1 said before the planned release of steam that any radiation would be "very low and the safety of nearby residents has been ensured," Kyodo reported earlier. Within the hour, plant officials said some radiation may have already been released, according to Kyodo.
About 3,000 people within a 2-mile radius had been ordered to leave late Friday, while thousands more within a 6-mile radius were told to stay indoors. Before dawn, however, mandatory evacuations were extended to 6 miles.
Prime Minister Naoto Kan plans to visit the plant later Saturday.
A U.S. nuclear specialist calls it "a dicey situation."
"They're operating on battery power now, and if they lose the batteries, they lose core cooling," Edwin Lyman, with the Union of Concerned Scientists, told the Monitor. He said the military is supposed to be bringing batteries to keep the backup cooling system operating to prevent the reactor's uranium core from overheating and melting.