A second explosion could hit the nuclear power plant damaged in Japan’s devastating earthquake, officials have warned.
Chief cabinet minister Yukio Edano warned of a hydrogen blast in reactor three at the Daiichi plant in Fukushima, but insisted it could withstand it as reactor one did on Saturday.
The first explosion destroyed the building housing reactor one, but did not prompt a major radiation leak.
Mr Edano said it was highly likely a partial meltdown had occurred in one reactor of the Fukushima plant, and that authorities were working on the assumption that one may occur in another.
Operators are now attempting to reduce the risk of meltdown at a total of three of the affected reactors at Daiichi by injecting sea water into them.
Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) said it was preparing to release some steam to relieve pressure in the reactor at the plant – 150 miles (241km) north of Tokyo.
This plan would release a small amount of radiation.
“We can stabilise the reactor if we take the air out and pump water in the vessel properly,” Mr Edano said.
“At the risk of raising further public concern, we cannot rule out the possibility of an explosion.
“If there is an explosion, however, there would be no significant impact on human health.”
The government has insisted radiation levels are low following Saturday’s explosion, saying the blast had not affected the reactor’s core container.
Some 22 people have showed signs of possible exposure to radiation at the Fukushima plant.
But officials from the Japan Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency say up to 160 may have suffered radiation exposure.
A 12-mile (19km) radius has been imposed on the Fukushima Daiichi plant with an estimated 170,000 people already having been evacuated.
Sky News’ Holly Williams, in Fukushima, said: “The experts I’m speaking to say that at the moment, as long as people are evacuated from the area, there is very little risk to humans.
“But they say the big risk here is fire. If either of these reactors caught fire, that would spread that radiation over a much larger area, which is obviously the concern of Japanese authorities at this moment.”
A six-mile exclusion zone is also in place around the nearby Fukushima Daini station, with an estimated 30,000 people told to leave the area.
The Sky News
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