Radiation levels near a quake-stricken nuclear plant are now harmful to human health, Japan's government says after explosions and a fire at the facility.

''There is no doubt that unlike in the past, the figures are the level at which human health can be affected,'' said chief government spokesman Yukio Edano.

Tens of thousands have already been evacuated from a zone within a radius of 20km from the Fukushima No.1 plant, 250 kilometres northeast of Tokyo.

In a live address on national broadcaster NHK, Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan also said that people beyond 20 kilometres but up to a 30-kilometre radius from the plant should stay indoors.

Mr Kan refused to comment about individual reactors, which he said was the job of the company running the Fukushima plant. There have now been three explosions since Saturday. The fire at No 4 reactor has been extinguished, according to local media

"We are making every effort possible so that no further leakage of material is possible," he said, saying that workers at the plant who were pumping seawater into the reactors to keep them cool were "putting themselves in a very dangerous situation".

"I know that people are very worried but I would like to ask you to act calmly."

In a press conference following Mr Kan's, Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said radiation levels around the No.1, No.2 and No.3 reactors were a threat to human health

The rise in radiation levels – which were recorded at up to 400 millisieverts an hour and were thousands of times higher than the levels recorded before the explosion at No.2 – may have also been caused by the fire at No.4, Mr Edano said.

The French embassy in Tokyo said this afternoon that low-level radiation wind from the reactors could reach the capital city, about 240 kilometres south of Fukushima, in 10 hours, Reuters reported.

With radiation levels around the facility up, TEPCO suspects the core of the No.2 reactor has partially melted, a critical nuclear safety situation

Source www.smh.com.au/environmen...-1busf.html

I know what you mean.. and it is not just about those affected now.. but in the future.. but with any crisis.. the focus must be on the living not the gone.. but I think those folks around the plant should pack up and leave. Easily said, hard to do.. it is not just the packing.. it is leaving a home you have a mortgage on, your entire financial life - job included (if it still exists).. but if I had kids.. I would have them away in a flash (oh.. probably not the best word to use.. but you know what I mean..)

Here: www.counterpunch.org/sherman...011.html