Japan prepares to raise level of nuclear crisis to most severe

[thewiseguy]

12:08 ET: Japan may raise the level of the nuke crisis to the most severe, according to Kyodo.
The government is also expected to expand the evacuation zone -- both signs that the crisis is getting worse, not better.


Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/fukushima-evacuation-zone-2011-4#ixzz1JEaOaNmE

This is just breaking so I do not have any more information on it.

[joeunderdog]

1. Those poor people. My heart goes out... nt

[thewiseguy]

2. Here is a small update:

JP govt may declare a Level 7 nuclear disaster after records show 10,000TBq per hr.

I am still waiting on the Kyodo to release their news bulletin.

[buddysmellgood]

3. Too little, too late.

[thewiseguy]

4. Here is the update finally:

The Nuclear Safety Commission of Japan released a preliminary calculation Monday saying that the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant had been releasing up to 10,000 terabecquerels of radioactive materials per hour at some point after a massive quake and tsunami hit northeastern Japan on March 11.

The disclosure prompted the government to consider raising the accident's severity level to 7, the worst on an international scale, from the current 5, government sources said. The level 7 on the International Nuclear Event Scale has only been applied to the 1986 Chernobyl catastrophe.

http://english.kyodonews.jp/news/2011/04/84721.html

1.8 million terabecquerels were released in Chernobyl. They do not know yet how much has been released in Fukushima but it is more than 100,000 terabecequerels. Which would give this disaster the most severe rating on the scale.