General

Japanese government on “maximum alert”

Crisis at Fukushima worsens

The Japanese government has declared a state of “maximum alert” over the ongoing nuclear crisis at the Fukushima plant, Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan announced on Tuesday. Workers and technicians at the plant are struggling to repair the reactor cooling systems that were damaged following the 9.0-magnitude earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan on March 11. Plutonium has now been detected in the soil, and radioactive water is leaking outside the plant. Prime Minister Kan told the Japanese parliament that the situation “continues to be unpredictable,” and that the government “will tackle the problem while in a state of maximum alert.” China, South Korea and the United States say that have detected radioactive material in their airspace.

BBC News

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