Alex continues his coverage of the Japanese nuclear reactor mega-disaster. He talks with Christopher Busby, a British scientist and activist known for his work on the health effects of ionizing radiation. In addition to his academic appointments he is the director of Green Audit, an environmental consultancy agency, and scientific adviser to the Low Level Radiation Campaign which he set up in 1995. Robert Bowman, former Director of Advanced Space Programs Development for the US Air Force, also talks with Alex about the Fukushima situation. Alex also covers other important and breaking news and takes your calls.
www.timesofearth.com KORIYAMA, Japan -- Japanese officials were scrambling this morning to deal with a second explosion at a nuclear plant crippled by Friday's earthquake and tsunami and to stave off more explosions and multiple reactor meltdowns at the crippled Fukishima Dai-ichi nuclear complex on the island's east coast. For the second time in less than two days, a blast -- felt 30 miles away -- shook the facility and a huge column of white smoke was seen, much the same as on Saturday, when a blast shook Plant No. 3. Japanese officials were providing few details of their operation, but said the blast was caused by a build-up of hydrogen and the casing holding the nuclear rods was still intact. More than 180000 people have been evacuated from the area, and up to 160 may have been exposed to radiation. Four nuclear plants in northeastern Japan have reported damage, but the danger appears to be greatest at the Fukushima complex. The quake knocked out power and the tsunami swamped backup generators. Since then, operators have not been able to cool three reactors there and three more at a nearby complex. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano had warned on Sunday that another explosion could occur at Plant No. 3. "At the risk of raising further public concern, we cannot rule out the possibility of an explosion," Edano said. "If there is an explosion, however, there would be no significant impact on human health." Operators had been dumping seawater into units 1 and 3 in a last ...
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