Fears of leak at second Japanese nuclear plant
A state of emergency has been reported at a second Japanese nuclear plant, according to the UN nuclear agency. Japan’s nuclear safety body blames high radiation levels on a neighbouring plant.
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The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said that the lowest state of emergency has been declared at the Onagawa nuclear power station.
Some useful links after the disaster:
France’s embassy in Japan – contact numbers and email addresses
The alert was declared "as a consequence of radioactivity readings exceeding allowed levels in the area surrounding the plant” an IAEA statement said but added that, according to the authorities, the three reactor units at the Onagawa nuclear power plant "are under control".
The Japanese nuclear agency said that Onagawa’s cooling systems are functioning properly but admits that radiation levels are high. It claims that the rise is due to the leak at Fukushima Number One, which suffered an explosion caused by the massive earthquake that hit Japan Friday.
About 210,000 people have been moved out of the area around Fukushima, officials say, while another 380,000 have been driven from their homes in other areas affected by the earthquake or the tsunami that followed it.
The tsunami killed one man in Indonesia’s Papua province Sunday.
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