Japan Radiation Release Long-Term Problem, France’s ASN Says

[Fledermaus]

The release of radiation from the crippled Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear power plant will be a problem for Japan for years to come, according to the French nuclear watchdog.

“We are at the beginning of the post-accident phase,” Andre-Claude Lacoste, head of the Paris-based Autorite de Surete Nucleaire, said at a press conference in Paris today. “Japan will have to deal with the consequences of this accident for decades.”

Radioactive contamination, which has been “significant,” could spread to as far as 100 kilometers (62 miles) around the site, he said. Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said radiation levels found in Japanese food aren’t harmful while distribution of spinach and milk will be limited after samples had higher-than-normal radiation levels.

At the stricken nuclear plant 135 miles north of Tokyo owned by Tokyo Electric Power Co., workers were evacuated from reactor No. 3 after smoke was seen rising from the roof of the building at around 5 p.m. today, the nuclear safety agency said. Temperatures of pools holding spent fuel rods have cooled in the past 24 hours, indicating the effect of thousands of tons of sea water sprayed over the reactors since the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, which knocked out cooling systems and water pumps.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-03-21/japan-radiation-release-long-term-problem-france-s-asn-says-1-.html

[PoliticAverse]

1. For reference the Chernobyl exclusion zone:

Not a uniform area but very much dependent on which way the wind was blowing at the time of particle release.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chernobyl_Nuclear_Power_Plant_Exclusion_Zone

[flamingdem]

2. Of course the north of Scandinavia was gravely impacted as well nt