Japan nuclear plant's facing meltdown
"We do believe that there is a possibility that meltdown has occurred. It is inside the reactor. We can't see. However, we are assuming that a meltdown has occurred," he said of the No. 1 reactor. "And with reactor No. 3, we are also assuming that the possibility of a meltdown as we carry out measures."
The term meltdown refers to a catastrophic failure of the reactor core, with a potential for widespread radiation release. Experts on nuclear plants however are ruling out the possibility of a Chernobyl like incident and scenario. The Chernobyl accident is one of the most catastrophic nuclear plant incident in the world which sends clouds of smoke and dangerous radiation into the atmosphere.
Fukushima Daiichi's nuclear facility in northeast Japan is the most vulnerable plant at this time since its No.1 and No. 2 reactors had already lost cooling capability and the danger of meltdown is extremely high.
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| Possible effects and spread of radiation in case of nuclear meltdown in Japan |
Early Saturday, a building housing the plant's No. 1 reactor already explored luckily the main reactor was not harmed. Officials are now saying that another explosion is possible due to the fact that the third reactor may have hydrogen gas that is accumulating in the reactor (that) may potentially cause an explosion.
Iodine tablets are already being distributed by the Japanese government in order to help block the uptake by the thyroid gland of radioactive iodine.
