Japan nuclear threat: Foreign Office advises Britons to leave Tokyo
The Foreign Office is poised to send charter flights to Japan to bring back British nationals over fears of a nuclear catastrophe following Friday's devastating earthquake. Last night, the FCO amended its travel advice, warning thousands of Britons that staying in Tokyo and other areas of the north east could leave them under threat of radiation poisoning.
Thousands of passengers have already crammed into Tokyo airport in a bid to leave the country.
It comes as the Japanese authorities resorted to dumping water on over-heating reactors at the Fukushima nuclear plant from helicopters in a desperate last-ditch attempt to stop a catastrophic meltdown.
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Leaving: Worried residents wait to enter the Immigration Bureau of Japan in Tokyo as they evacuate the city in the wake of the earthquake and fears of a nuclear catastrophe. Foreigners need re-entry permits in advance if they plan to revisit the country
Chaos: Passengers crowd Mar Haneda International Airport outside Tokyo as foreigners scramble to flee the country amid radiation fears
The advice to flee echoed by other countries around the world followed a meeting of the Cabinets emergency Cobra committee to discuss the meltdown-threatened Fukushima nuclear plant.
It heigh! tened su spicions that the crisis at the plant already ranked the second-worst nuclear disaster after Chernobyl is worse than the Japanese authorities have publicly let on.
A CH-47 Chinook helicopter began dumping seawater on the damaged reactor of Unit 3 at the Fukushima complex at 9.48am local time this morning as Defence Minister Toshifumi Kitazawa told reporters that emergency workers had no choice but to try the water dumps before it was too late. The aircraft dumped at least four loads of at least 2,000 gallons each, on the reactor, though much of the water appeared to be dispersed in the air.
Collecting water: The Self-Defense Forces's helicopter scoops seawater on Japan's northeast coast en route to the Fukushima plant
Last ditch: A Japanese military helicopter can be seen in the top left of the picture as it dumps water onto reactors 3 and 4 at Fukushima nuclear plant
Thedumping was intended both to help cool the reactor and to replenish water in a pool holding spe! nt fuel rods, Toyama said. The plant's owner,Tokyo Electric Power Co., said earlier that the pool was nearly empty, which might cause the rods to overheat.
American officials have also said that they believe the fuel holding pools at reactor three and four are empty. That means that nuclear fuel rods at both the reactors could overheat further and release more radiation.
Even when removed from reactors, uranium rods are still extremely hot and must be cooled for months, possibly longer, to prevent them from heating up again and emitting radioactivity. Emergency workers are struggling to keep a constant supply of water pumping into the holding pools.
Japanese officials last night admitted that much of the monitoring equipment in the plant was broken and it was impossible to monitor the situation.
'We haven't been able to get any of the latest data at any spent fuel pools. We don't have latest water levels, temperatures, none of the latest information,' an official said.
Ministers are due to hold further talks last night on whether an immediate evacuation from Japan should be considered.
About 17,000 British nationals are thought to be in the country, mostly in Tokyo. Last nights Foreign Office warning stopped short of ordering them to leave the country a diplomatic gesture which will be welcomed by the Japanese government.
But officials conceded that in reality most Britons will have few options but to leave Japan if they want to heed the advice.
Thousands of Japanese citizens are already fleeing Tokyo for the south.
Officials yesterday insisted there was no significa! nt risk to human health in Tokyo, which is less than 140miles south of Fukushima.
But Europes energy chief Guenther Oettinger warned the huge plant was effectively out of control sparking fears of a meltdown, which could send a radioactive cloud into the atmosphere.
He warned of further catastrophic events, which could pose a threat to the lives of people on the island.Mr Oettinger predicted the dire situation could take a further turn forthe worse within hours.
The Japanese public was also unconvinced by its governments reassurances. The mayor of Minimisoma, which is 12 miles from the Fukushima plant, said: We werent told when the first reactor exploded, we only heard about it on television. The government doesnt tell us anything. We are isolated. Theyre leaving usto die.
The Foreign Office insisted there wasno real human health issue outside the 20-mile exclusion zone surrounding the plant.
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But it warned that panic caused by the crisis meant there were potential disruptions to the supply of goods, transport, communications, power and other infrastructure in Tokyo.
Officials confirmed that contingency plans were being drawn up for an air! lift of British nationals if the crisis worsens. Talks have already been held with airlines about laying on extra flights.
The warning came as the Japanese authorities made increasingly desperate attempts to contain the crisis at the Fukushima plant.
Helicopters deployed to dump water onthe plant were pulled out amid concerns about soaring radiation levels.
Officials were considering using water cannon normally used to control riots in a desperate bid to cool the overheating reactors, which have suffered a series of explosions.
Escape: residents gather up their belongings and form a queue as they wait to board a bus out of Sendai, north eastern Japan, yesterday
Destroyed: Damage after the earthquake and tsunami at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, 240 km (150 miles) north of Tokyo, is seen in this satellite image taken 9:35 am local time (0035 GMT)
Yesterday a further fire broke out, two more reactors were reported to be overheating and concerns were growing about two pools used to store spent radioactive fuel. If a reactor overheats and its casing is breached dangerous radioactive material could be blown for miles. Several countries advised their citizens to evacuate.
France, one of the worlds leading users of nuclear energy, said its citizens should get out Japan. Industry Minister Eric Besson said: L! ets not beat about the bush. Theyhave visibly lost essential control. That is our analysis, even if itsnot what they are saying.
French Environment Minister Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet described the crisis as catastrophic and said the latest information does not lead to optimism.
There are 2,000 French still in the Tokyo area. Australia also urged its citizens to consider leaving Tokyo and the quake-affected areas.
And the U.S. advised all Americans living within 50 miles of Fukishima to evacuate or take shelter indoors.
Russia said the crisis was moving towards a grim conclusion.
Sergei Kiriyenko, who presides over the bulk of the countrys nuclear facilities, declared: Unfortunately, the situation is developing under the worst scenario.
Explosions rocked the site on Saturday and Monday when hydrogen gas released to ease pressure insidethe sealed cores ignited at reactors 1 and 3. On Monday hydrogen blasts hit reactor 2 and reactor 4, damaging its roof.
Experts believe that the reactor 2 blast cracked the 80-inch steel and concrete containment unit surrounding the radioactive core triggering a radiation leak.
Last night temperatures were rising out of control in reactors 5 and 6. Scientists are also concerned about falling water levels in two tanks used to store and cool spent fuel rods.
Water in at least one of the pools isboiling. If its rods are exposed to the air they could overheat, releasing radioactive material into the air.
Steam rose from the pool alongside reactor 3 yesterday. Nuclear experts said the solutions being proposed to prevent leaks were last-ditch efforts.
But they added that if temperatures inside the reactors are kept down, the plant could be safe within a week.
The chief of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), Gregory Jaczko, warned that all the cooling water had gone from one of the spent fuel pools.
That would mean there is nothing to stop the fuel rods getting hotter and ultimately melting down and! if the outer shell of the rods ignite with enough force, it could propel the radioactive fuel inside over a wide area.
'I hope my information is wrong,' said Jaczko. 'It's a terrible tragedy for Japan.'
Japan's nuclear safety agency and Tokyo Electric Power, which operates the complex, denied the claim and utility spokesman Hajime Motojuku said the 'condition is stable' at Unit 4.
Earlier, however, another utility spokesman contradicted that by saying the officials' greatest concerns were the spent fuel pools, which lack the protective shells that reactors have.
'We haven't been able to get any of the latest data at any spent fuel pools,' said Masahisa Otsuki.
'We don't have the latest water levels, temperatures, none of the latest information for any of the four reactors.'
Extreme measures: There are temporary radiation cleaning shelter, set up by across the affected area including Nihonmatsu city in Fukushima
Potentially exposed: Women, one holding her dog, are scanned for radiation at a temporary evacuation centre for residents living near the Fukushima plant
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