ID :
174948
Tue, 04/12/2011 - 17:12
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/174948
The shortlink copeid
Kan says situation at crippled nuclear plant improving step by step
TOKYO (Kyodo) - Prime Minister Naoto Kan said Tuesday that the ongoing crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant has been easing gradually in recent days, although there is absolutely no time for complacency in containing the world's worst nuclear accident in a quarter century.
''Compared with before, today's situation is improving step by step, or as I have just said the release of radioactive particles (from the plant) is declining,'' Kan said at a news conference. ''But it has not yet reached the point where we can predict what will happen.''
Kan's remarks came after Japan raised its assessment of the crisis at the tsunami-stricken nuclear complex to the most serious level on an internationally recognized scale, equivalent to the 1986 Chernobyl explosion.
He said Japan did not underestimate the nuclear accident since it was caused by the most devastating earthquake and ensuing tsunami in Japan's history a month ago in its northeastern region.
Kan said he had instructed the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency and the Nuclear Safety Commission of Japan to thoroughly analyze the accident and the past data before releasing their assessment.
''Out of this (order), I must say that nothing has been delayed or underestimated,'' he said when asked about why it took so long for the regulators to raise the severity rating after they provisionally set it at 5, the same as the Three Mile Island accident in the United States in 1979, on March 18.
As Japan continues to be rocked by a series of strong aftershocks in the already heavily damaged region, Kan said that he has asked the plant's operator, Tokyo Electric Power Co., to soon present its views on when the emergency situation may be brought under control.
Japanese nuclear regulators raised the severity of the crisis at the Fukushima complex from level 5 to the maximum 7 in the morning, citing accumulating radiation.
They noted that the amount of radioactive particles emitted from the Fukushima plant is so far about 10 percent of that from the former Soviet nuclear plant.
However, Junichiro Matsumoto, a senior official of the utility's nuclear power section, said the total radiation from the Japanese plant could eventually be more than that from Chernobyl if leaks continue.
Kan promised that the government will do all it can to assist residents, farmers and fishermen whose lives have been seriously affected by high levels of radiation from the plant, located about 220 kilometers from Tokyo.
''The utility holds primary responsibility. But the government must assume the responsibility of providing them with appropriate compensation,'' he said.
As part of efforts to help the victims of the March 11 natural calamities, Kan asked the public to consume more items from the affected region.
''By considering the victims, we should now avoid adopting a mood of excessive self-restraint and have a normal life as much as possible,'' he said.
Kan had planned to hold a news conference on Monday to mark exactly one month from the 9.0-magnitude quake and tsunami, leaving nearly 28,000 people dead or missing.
But it was canceled as a 7.0-magnitude aftershock rattled Japan's eastern and northeastern areas, about 30 minutes before his scheduled appearance.
''Compared with before, today's situation is improving step by step, or as I have just said the release of radioactive particles (from the plant) is declining,'' Kan said at a news conference. ''But it has not yet reached the point where we can predict what will happen.''
Kan's remarks came after Japan raised its assessment of the crisis at the tsunami-stricken nuclear complex to the most serious level on an internationally recognized scale, equivalent to the 1986 Chernobyl explosion.
He said Japan did not underestimate the nuclear accident since it was caused by the most devastating earthquake and ensuing tsunami in Japan's history a month ago in its northeastern region.
Kan said he had instructed the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency and the Nuclear Safety Commission of Japan to thoroughly analyze the accident and the past data before releasing their assessment.
''Out of this (order), I must say that nothing has been delayed or underestimated,'' he said when asked about why it took so long for the regulators to raise the severity rating after they provisionally set it at 5, the same as the Three Mile Island accident in the United States in 1979, on March 18.
As Japan continues to be rocked by a series of strong aftershocks in the already heavily damaged region, Kan said that he has asked the plant's operator, Tokyo Electric Power Co., to soon present its views on when the emergency situation may be brought under control.
Japanese nuclear regulators raised the severity of the crisis at the Fukushima complex from level 5 to the maximum 7 in the morning, citing accumulating radiation.
They noted that the amount of radioactive particles emitted from the Fukushima plant is so far about 10 percent of that from the former Soviet nuclear plant.
However, Junichiro Matsumoto, a senior official of the utility's nuclear power section, said the total radiation from the Japanese plant could eventually be more than that from Chernobyl if leaks continue.
Kan promised that the government will do all it can to assist residents, farmers and fishermen whose lives have been seriously affected by high levels of radiation from the plant, located about 220 kilometers from Tokyo.
''The utility holds primary responsibility. But the government must assume the responsibility of providing them with appropriate compensation,'' he said.
As part of efforts to help the victims of the March 11 natural calamities, Kan asked the public to consume more items from the affected region.
''By considering the victims, we should now avoid adopting a mood of excessive self-restraint and have a normal life as much as possible,'' he said.
Kan had planned to hold a news conference on Monday to mark exactly one month from the 9.0-magnitude quake and tsunami, leaving nearly 28,000 people dead or missing.
But it was canceled as a 7.0-magnitude aftershock rattled Japan's eastern and northeastern areas, about 30 minutes before his scheduled appearance.
