Japan is struggling to cool down a nuclear power plant following the 8.9 magnitutude earthquake earlier today. Government officials just announced that they are going to release slightly radioactive vapor into the air from the disabled reactor.
The Globe and Mail reported:
Japan’s massive earthquake caused a power outage that disabled a nuclear reactor’s cooling system, triggering evacuation orders for about 3,000 residents as the government declared its first-ever state of emergency at a nuclear plant.
Japan’s nuclear safety agency said pressure inside one of six boiling water reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi plant had risen to 1.5 times the level considered normal. To reduce the pressure, slightly radioactive vapor may be released. The agency said the radioactive element in the vapor would not affect the environment or human health.
*Update* Nuclear officials are saying now that radiation levels have surged to 1,000 times their normal levels and that thousands are now being evacuated. Not good…
