Officials raise alert levels on Fukushima leaks to level 3- serious incident

[cali]

Japan's nuclear watchdog has officially raised the alert level for a leak at the Fukushima nuclear plant to a level 3 on the international scale, INES.

The Nuclear Regulation Authority flagged the increase last week and confirmed it was classified as a "serious incident" on Wednesday after consultation with the International Atomic Energy Agency.

The chairman of Japan's nuclear watchdog Shunichi Tanaka said while his committee approved the new rating, the situation at Fukushima was still unclear.

"We don't know what exactly the situation is, how much has leaked, how radioactive it was, or where it was going," Mr Tanaka said.

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http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-08-28/an-japan-fuku/4919724