Japan’s Stricken Nuclear Power Plant Rocked by Blasts, Fire
March 15, 2011, 1:34 AM EDT
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By Tsuyoshi Inajima, Michio Nakayama and Shigeru Sato
(Updates with weather forecast in 11th paragraph. See EXT2 <GO> for Japan quake coverage.)
March 15 (Bloomberg) -- Tokyo Electric Power Co.’s stricken nuclear power plant was today rocked by two further explosions and a fire as workers struggled to avert the risk of a meltdown.
A hydrogen blast hit the Fukushima Dai-Ichi plant’s No. 4 reactor, where Tokyo Electric earlier reported a blaze, Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said at a briefing. Four of the complex’s six reactors have been damaged by explosions.
Prime Minister Naoto Kan appealed for calm as he said the danger of further radiation leaks was rising at the crippled nuclear facility, 135 miles (220 kilometers) north of Tokyo. Sea water is being pumped to cool the reactors and prevent the uncontrolled release of radioactive material.
Asia’s biggest utility said the containment chamber of the No. 2 reactor may be damaged after a blast at 6:14 a.m. today and radiation leakage is possible. The explosion occurred near a suppression chamber that controls pressure in the reactor core, Tokyo Electric said.
The utility’s stock was set to retreat by the daily limit of 25 percent in Tokyo. The shares failed to open for trading because of a lack of buy orders.
Today’s blasts follow one at the No. 3 reactor yesterday after a buildup of hydrogen gas and a similar explosion at the No. 1 reactor on March 12.
