however, for reactor number 1 and reactor number 3 hydrogen came out, causing a hydrogen explosion. and also for reactor 4 we have seen fire. and radiation has spread from these reactors and the reading of the level seems very high. and there is still a very high risk of further radioactive material coming out from the fukushima number 1 nuclear power pla plant. a 20-kilometer radius has become an area for evacuation. most of the people have evacuated from this area we need now for everybody to move out of the 20-kilometer radius from the number one plant. and in areas from 20 to 30 kilometers from the power plant, depending on what happens at the power plant, we would like to ask you to remain indoors, at home or in your offices. we would like to ask you to remain indoors and avoid going outside. for fukushima number 2 nuclear power plant already people have almost all evacuated from the 10-kilometer radius. now we are requesting that everybody move out from the 10-kilometer radius from the number 2 plant. if -- or rather we are making every effort possible so that no further explo

on number three reactor building spraying water to prevent hydrogen, emitting hydrogen for possible explosion or a meltdown. you are looking at the defense ministry press conference room at the moment. we are waiting for the defense minister to hold a news conference hopefully soon to explain about the helicopter operation which poured 7.5 tons of water, four times this morning at an hour and a half ago. on fukushima daiichi nuclear power plant on reactor three. they are planning to start a spraying operation use a truck. we are waiting for defense minister to hold a news conference to explain the helicopter operation. . due to radiation levels the operation should be conducted for a minimum altitude and limited to 40 minutes per helicopter day. you are looking at the operation footage taken one hour and a half ago at around 9:48 a.m. japan time where 7.5 tons of sea water was dumped four times on number three reactor building at the fukushima daiichi nuclear power plant. there is an urgent need for cooling those reactors to stop the fuel from emitting hydrogen for possible explosion or melt

we do not know if it is caused by the flame, or if it is hydrogen explosion. we will be updating with you as we have more details on that. you are now looking at footage taken about 20 minutes ago at the fukushima daiichi nuclear power plant where smoke is billowing from there. about 10:00 a.m. japan time,ening a nhk helicopter filmed smoke coming from the fukushima daiichi power plant. helicopter is flying 30 kilometers away from the plant. we don't know the details of which reactor it is coming from, or whether it is caused by flame or a hydrogen explosion, as we have seen in some of the reactors yesterday and the day before. earlier wednesday the plant operator reported fire at the fukushima daiichi power plant and flames were seen coming from the number four reactor building then. the same building that caught fire on tuesday. the tokyo electric power company says there were no visible signs of fire about a half hour after it was detected. however, as you see, this is the video footage taken about 20 minutes ago at the fukushima daiichi power plant that sm

this was followed by two hydrogen explosions. and the catastrophic traffic relief catastrophic-relief of te radiation a major concern. catherine was just explaining the latest concern is that they heard explosions. there have not been radioactive material released. we have seen pictures of this unfolding catastrophe where residents of japan that the ben living in this area that have been living in this area screened by help officials. health officials were in a security guard with health-officials, taking samples of the residences to check their radiation levels potential radiation levels. again, this explosion video from one of those nuclear plants. the latest explosion was at 6:1:00 a.m. tuesday on in japan, the nuclear agency's in the area. nuclear experts are run the world 6:10 and their watch developments and that some of the nuclear power plants are now being used for energy purposes a round the world. many in europe and in this country. we spoke earlier from a pg&e representative. with these concerns and assessing the dama

a second hydrogen explosion has rocked a nuclear plant in japan.g -- now exposed fuel rods are raising fears of a third blast. charlie d'agata reports live from tokyo. >> reporter: in addition to the recovery efforts, that will continue through the night, the real focus now is on the state of emergency at several nuclear sites, three in particular. the one that blew up on saturday and another as you said today. and it appears a third may be headed in the same direction. smoke poured out of this nuclear power plant following the second hydrogen explosion in three days. authorities say the blast didn't cause a massive radiation leak. still, u.s. warships and planes helping with relief efforts moved away from the area as a precaution. crews have been desperately trying to avoid a nuclear meltdown at the facility since it was damaged in friday's powerful earthquake. over the weekend, they dumped sea water into the reactors to try to cool them down. more than 180,000 residents were also evacuated and had to be scanned for radiation before entering shelt

there's been a second hydrogen explosion at a nuclear plant now in just three days. d'agata joins us live from tokyo. i guess i should say good evening to you. what's the latest on the nuclear situation there now? >> reporter: and good morning to you, frank and elizabeth. the latest is, and this is moving along all the time, you know that first explosion took place at a reactor over the weekend on saturday. now we have had a second explosion at a second reactor. so it's in the same facility, and that, the same sort of situation. it was a build-up of hydrogen gas. the same thing happened again today that happened saturday. that's moved along. now a number 2. so the third reactor is undergoing the same sort of stresses. what's happened is the pumps in the cooling system have failed. the electricity is sporadic so it is now starting to build up pressure in the same sort of way, the build-up of hydrogen gas. having said that the government is doing all they can the people of japan that the gas cloud that's being released from these reactors doesn't contain anything that'

the cause believed to be a build up of hydrogen. we assume there was a similar explosion at the third reactor, at this point we can confirm the container of the reactor is sound. experts also expect there is a possibility of radio active particles being set free is low. hours before people nearby were trying to leave. those who had ignored earlier warnings are now desperate to get out. further away they were being scanned for contamination. a few have shown slightly raised levels of radiation but nowhere near dangerous levels. japan relies on nuclear for a third of its electricity, the trust in the technology and power company officials are being shaken. >> i don't know whether we can believe them, not only their comments but the government. i have to take our own action. >> i am very scared. figot infected by radiation there would be a big risk of getting cancer. >> after being checked people are being placed in evacuation centers across the city. this place is about 40 miles from the nuclear power station. for some that is not far

there is a hydrogen rule which requires modifications to reduce the impact of hydrogen generated. there is equipment qualification rules that requires equipment indication equipment, to remain operable under the kinds of environmental temperature radiation conditions that he would see under a design basis axiom. going directly to the type of containment design the plant in japan have, we have had a containment improvement program since the very late 1980's. it installed a hardened the vent systems for the containment cooling. enhanced reliability of the automatic depressurization system. i also mentioned earlier that we have emergency preparedness and planning requirements that provide ongoing training and testing and evaluation of emergency preparedness programs and coordination of other federal partner fema. that entails extensive interaction with state and local governments as those programs are evaluated and tested on a yearly basis. over the near-term, the nrc activities -- concurrent with the event evaluation that we're doing for the operations center and the team that is in

from at least three reactors and now from a fuel point as well and hydrogen is an explosive gas if it's confined mixed with air that produces it can produce very dramatic explosions as we've seen so that's clearly a major concern for them but i think the explosion problem is almost the least of their problems at the moment because what it has done to the reactors we don't know we don't know who hasn't apparently damaged the containment or the reactor pressure vessels themselves although i gather there may be a hole in one of the containments in unit two but what bothers me and i haven't heard any very good confirmation about it is what it is done to the actual contact between the control room and the reactor itself whether the whether the dials and gauges in the control room are now actually giving reliable information about what's happening inside the reactors particularly because the sensors for temperature and pressure and water level and so on in the turbulent conditions that have been happening in those reactors must be the sensors must themselves now be potentially unreliable whic

vapor explosion steam explosion or hydrogen explosion and the prevailing winds as to how far that gets carried and how not. so there are many ifs but you can't rule it out at this stage. full scale worst case scenario and of course there are several other nuclear power plants that are in danger as well and if one goes off in a way then we're worried about the impact that might have on other ones so this is the second disaster we're now had of the same site do you think the situation there is only going to get worse can relieve the authorities when they say they are in control just. not in control they don't know what is happening inside the reactor they're working frantically they're risking their lives the people in near. ok looks like we lost philip white. we did apologize for that. problem hopefully we'll fix it for you and bring him back shortly but at the moment as we've heard earlier there's been another explosion of the atomic power complex in northeastern japan meanwhile crews are fighting to cool down the overheated radioactive fuel rods at the plants to avert a catastrophic n

with hydrogen. is it your understanding that all the hydrogen that led to the explosions came from the spent fuel? >> i, um, i wouldn't want to hazard a guess. certainly a likely source. whether it's all of it or not, i couldn't guess. >> you've talked about this a little bit, but i want to give you a chance to give a little more holistic response to this. what measures are in place to prevent hydrogen from collecting and exploding in u.s. plants? marked ones or others? >> the hardened event, of course, the u.s. design approach is to protect the containment. it's to ensure the integrity of the containment. and if you can do that even if you have fuel damage, then you can prevent the uncontrolled release of radioactive materials into the environment. and so this is three mile island, for example, had, had core damage, a significant amount of core damage. yet the radiological releases were very limited from three mile island. so there was, you know, negligible health effect from that accident. so the

this into fahrenheit but over on that those temperatures and then it's sort of being fed by this hydrogen right so that's sort of what's up and the question that that which which i think would be in the neighborhood of around two thousand trees fahrenheit when there's some you know that's i was reading that recently. why zirconium that i mean that's like magnesium you know well it's a very reactive metal as long as it doesn't get heated up and but it's a very durable in terms of preventing the radioactive contents of the material that are created in a reactor from a scaping ice and so it has these kind of dual properties is that it's fairly good when you have it in a reactor as long as that doesn't overheat and then it becomes very reactive right it is but it soon as you lose the water from the spent fuel or reactor vessel or reactor of us or you're guaranteed it's going to start overheating is going to ultimately catch on fire and then i'll know you have this large generation of hydrogen. once it starts to mix with oxygen somewhere and there's any any possibility of a spark it will go th

of the fukushima nuclear plant occurred at reactor number three according to latest reports the hydrogen glaus did not damage the reactors container bus and the number of workers have been injured and jimmy has continued to poor seawater into the reactor to cool it down and also a new three meter height tsunami is moving toward the north east coast of japan with or she's evacuating thousands of residents stay with us here for the latest developments in japan and also you can log on to our website asking for call from out. here is that simple jargon for people that are in the business of tapes of the drift to the right across europe and the u.s. want more people are getting the political and like the new. york times or not it is the. really the latest science and technology from. the future. wealthy british style it's a small town.

find ourselves in situation of some hydrogen explosions and fires just in our. mint so it's a simple situation it's very very liquid it's very hard to estimate right now. we are. turning point. you know. radioactive materials heads succeeded or a hair's been released from least we know least one or need two units in dying referring to. a recent really just a goal in a unit number four we know what is in this was the reason. and let's see increase. your previously radiation level talk your thoughts on the increase is not significant well so it's nine nine. grown. permissable goals but. it is not that. these are stories and we are turning point. one possibility is obvious as a good possibility of. years doctors don't you say that we're at a turning point in such a head now and so when this crisis is over let's say the worst case scenario happens you know how would they secure the plan will it have to be contained in a sarcophagus like happened. will it be a no go area for years to come do you think. yes definitely yes a lot of. my predictions are you know it is ve

those rods heated up and gave off hydrogen which ignited. japan asked for help from the u.s. military and cameras captured team from the reactor buildings, indicating fuel continues to melt and deadly vapors could be escaping, jonathan bloom, kron 4 news. >>> experts from uc berkeley and university of tokyo teamed up to host a panel about the earthquake and tsunami and the melt down threat. they answered questions the audience had about the effects of radiation and whether it could reach the united states. kron 4's christy shows us the scene tonight. >> getting these questions about iodine tablets. here, absolutely not. period. >> this reactive material, our measurements in the united states will pick something ut. but at this pint, just because we can measure something doesn't mean it's dangerous. >> the farther you are from the source the radiation level drops significantly. if you are in california, 8,000- kilometers from the site, then you see it's -- we don't see any effects or neutrons emitted. >> how much radiation? i don't want to give estimate because i don't know. >

see yes we've got it yes but right so we actually one in reactor three we've seen those with the hydrogen explosions where you know it really messed up here where the roofs are the reality of course still intact right well but you know we were following this is best we can we keep getting different information we're hearing that the containments have held on those two the the the troubling one is number two where the explosion was in the suppression pool which is through that do not shake that you saw the body tourists yes in there and that blew open it was so eager to measure it you have a containment explosion which is different to me you know that maybe it's the picture of i mean the irony of these pictures is that ones that look the worst what's happening at least all of the you know it's all relative but they're really serious so you see this number two where that happened there was an explosion there is venting there but the explosion was inside containment and that's the vulnerability of our bodies either as the side of a. it didn't take the roof out because it didn't because the v

know to save the reactor they've been venting steam through here and there's been a build up of hydrogen which is then detonated and illusory roof blew the roof. off to at least of these letters which exposes these pools are those the two evils yes in a in one in three we've seen the that's who was sick say a lot of these at these at the actual photos of the reactors here i this is. this is well explain what the writers write well these are before the explicit the four reactors before the explosion and obviously you know they will that's how they look no cooling towers in a lot of people associate reactors and it will be told i know is that this underneath the square this is basically where the top of a concert hot and underneath is the nuclear waste right and in the case of unit four because the core is not no longer inside the reactor it's all of the fuel was removed from unit four so all of that waste is in the spent fuel pool and that's where we're seeing a fire oh my ok so let's go to the certain perrier this is. this is in the process oh yes i think it's there either way around ove

yesterday the concrete building surrounding a reactor exploded after the buildup of hydrogen, and the core may have had a partial meltdown. authorities flooded it and another reactor with seawater. they're trying to avoid another hydrogen explosion at the reactor. 180,000 people have been evacuated. 160 people have tested positive for radiation, but it's unclear if it's dangerous levels. a total of six reactors are damaged at four nuclear plants. the nuclear regulatory commission says the radiation is not expected to reach the united states. california has monitoring systems in place for our air, water, and food supply. >> speaking of food and water are in short supply for hundreds of thousands of earthquake survive glors japan, and temperatures are near freezing. rescuers are pulling bodies and some survivors from the mud-covered wreckage of homes and cars. over 1400 people are confirmed dead. one police heave says the toll could top 10,000. >> reporter: with images that speak for themselves, japan's prime minister spoke frankly inch the 65 years after the end of world war ii, this i

the second of two hydrogen explosions created the huge mushroom cloud over the city. the fuel rods were also exposed for a second time today after a steam vent failed to open. that raises the risk of overheating and a possible meltdown. managers say they cannot rule out a partial meltdown so far. they say the containment dome is is holding, however. but more than 180,000 people have evacuated the area to avoid possible radiation exposure. in the the meantime, the navy says members of three helicopter crews on the uss reagan were easily decontaminated with soap and water. >>> out today, new video of the moment the quake hit. intense shaking actually split a road open. you can see there the asphalt moving while a camera was revolving. these images are. witnesses say the town was submerged by the tsunami about 30 minutes after the earthquake. this area took the full force of the tsunami. officials say as many as 10,000 people are missing in this province. that's more than half the town's population. japanese news agencies are reporting 2,000 bodies washing up on shore in

the result of hydrogen and that mass. will be slowed down more efficiently device can register events. we were selected following an open and fair competition. or what the laboratory of last us but also took part in the contest but device turned out to be better we've suggested narrowing down the visible area by using a passive color meaning based on boron ten. in all the lunar reconnaissance orbiter or l r o consists of six instruments intended to produce the most detailed analysis of the lunar environment today this includes not just high resolution imaging of the moon's terrain but also tests for the potential biological impact of radiation from cosmic rays thermal and ultraviolet mapping of the moon surface to detect possible deposits of water ice in cold traps and topographical studies that help survey for future landing sites and hazards the impact of data is already being felt. the program was recalibrated based on knowledge of ice is indications the knew for sure that they changed the planned landing location i'm

that was caused by elemental hydrogen released by the partial meltdowns that the japanese government is saying probably has happened. the more grave event, what they're trying to stop is a total meltdown inside the reaction chamber itself and inside the primary construction that would shield the immediate environment from more radiation. >> ok. now, in order to prevent this meltdown, what needs to be done? >> it has to be cooled but cooled very carefully because it's extremely hot there now, well over 1000 degrees celcius. when you add water to the mixture it can be very explosive. they are using seawater mixed with boron, a neutron absorber which is able to interfere with nuclear chain reactions. that is thew last-ditch thing they're doing. >> how worried should the people be? >> i think that they should be -- we should all be a little bit worried at this point, but i don't think we're in for acharne noble-style incident. it's a completely different style of reactor and different construction. >> thank you for your assessment. >> well, rescue teams in japan are starting to head off

yesterday's hydrogen plant blast in unit 1. broken into two sections. four faulty reactors at one and three faulty reactors out of six at the other. one exploded. experts feared pressure building up and now unit 3 has blown. more than 180,000 people have been evacuated from the area. up to 150 may have been exposed to radiation. officials are trying to reassure people saying the radiation is not life threatening. >> we were flightenned but the radiation turned out to be nothing to worry about. >> reporter: not everyone believes this and there are three-hour waits to check in for a flight to escape the area. now the japanese ambassador to the united states concedes part of the fuel rods inside the power plant may be melting. but as with three-mile island in 1979 there may not be a crisis. >> there was a considerable melting of the core but essentially all of the material was contained in the concrete containment. namely very little of it was released. >> reporter: the nuclear regulatory commission says the west coast of the u.s.

. >> reporter: another hydrogen explosion rocked the crippled t fukushima nuclear power plant. this follows yesterday's hydrogen blast in the unit 1. the complex is broken into two sections. four with faulty reactors and another area with three damaged reactors out of six. the first reactor exploded and officials feared pressure building up and now unit 3 has blown. more than 180,000 people have been evacuated from the area. up to 160 may have been exposed to radiation. officials are trying to reassure people saying the radiation is not life threatening. >> we were frightened. but the radiation turned out to be nothing to worry about. >> not everyone believes this. and there are three-hour waits to check in for a flight to escape the area. now the japanese ambassador to the united states concedes part of the fuel rods inside the power plant may be melting. but as with 3-mile island in 1979 there may not be a crisis. >> there was a considerable melting of the core but essentially all of the material was contained in the concrete containment. namely very little of it was released

a hydrogen explosion similar to what happened yesterday in the number one unit is possible.ore than 170,000 people have been evacuated from an area 12 miles around the plant. the official death toll from the overall earthquake and tsunami, more than 1,000 with an estimated 10,000. >> this is an extremely serious situation and we're not out of the woods yet. >> partial meltdowns may have occurred at cue crippled reactors and they're facing serious cooling problems at three more. >> the pump, the electricity all gone because of the earthquake and the tsunami. this was not supposed to happen. >> the unusual combination of events brought japan to the brink. >> they're trying to end this crisis. it's a question of capability: can they? >> this 39-year-old school teacher says the place where i work might be contaminated so i came here to have a check and find out what i have to do next. fears of radiation exposure are coupled with the afternoon math of the earthquake and tsunami. millions do not have drinking water and electricity. crews are racing to the search for the missing. e

first of all, there was the hydrogen bomb. right below the roof is the spent nuclear fuel pond, the water level and the spent fuel rods became exposed and in the reactor, the fuel there is believed to be damaged because the water levels fell and not the number two reactor, the outer building is still intact. however, the water level and the spent nuclear fuel pond is coming down and the fuel is being exposed. and in the reactor also, as in the other reactor the fuel rods have been damaged and for the number two reactor, was there a hydrogen explosion and the pressure control mechanism system has also been damaged and in the number three reactor, since three days ago, the water dousing activity has focused much on this reactor. here also the explosion blew off the roof and the water and the spent fuel pond has almost been depleted. that's why this reactor was doused intensively and the reactor is also believed to be damaged and in the number 4 reactor and the number has been decreased in the spent nuclear fuel, and the dousing

there has been a second hydrogen explosion at stricken fukushima daiichi nuclear power plant. >> theanese authority say radiation levels have exploded and within legal limits, however. diana alvear has the latest. from narita, japan. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. what happened earlier today is just a sign of how fluid and how dangerous the situation still is for japan. reports of a second explosion at that nuclear facility and a possible second tsunami did little to ease the fears of those still living through this ongoing nuclear crisis. within seconds the scene in sendai changed dramatically. officials reported another explosion at the fukushima nuclear facility. >> we are at a reactor tipping point. either over the next 24 to 48 hours they'll get control of these reactors or they'll get meltdown at one or more reactors. a completely unprecedented situation. >> reporter: minutes earlier, warnings of a possible second tsunami, a false alarm, but no less frightening. the impact of the explosion was not immediately clear but the message from survivors of the initial disaste

and that hydrogen is what as we have seen as caused the explosions in reactors at the moment i can say that the authorities are doing everything they can the most immediate concern which has come to us in tokyo over the past twelve hours last night is that the amount of fuel available in the north that is gasoline and diesel fuel and diesel fuel is one of the keys to resolving this situation there are a number of fire trucks that fire emergency vehicles pumping water into these exposed or damaged reactor buildings these pumping trucks have to continue working there are also diesel generators which are pumping it's a mixture of seawater and boron that is more or acid boron or a gas that is a very good neutron absorbers so. good at slowing the reaction down i see water and boric acid is being pumped into these reactors and those pumps must continue working it's very difficult for normal people to imagine the amount of pressure of water pressure that's required in this situation we think of high pressure water as coming out of a garden hose or a police water cannon well the amount of wate