Dangerous core breach suspected at Japan reactor

Updated 1:19 p.m. ET

TOKYO - Two weeks after an earthquake and tsunami triggered a crisis at a nuclear plant, the facility is still not under control, and the government said Friday there is a suspected breach at a reactor. That means radioactive contamination at the plant is more serious than once thought.

Japanese leaders defended their decision not to evacuate people from a wider area around the plant, insisting they are safe if they stay indoors. But officials also said residents may want to voluntarily move to areas with better facilities, since supplies in the tsunami-devastated region are running short.

The escalation in the nuclear plant crisis came as the death toll from the quake and tsunami passed the grim milestone of 10,000 on Friday. Across the battered northeast coast, hundreds of thousands of people whose homes were destroyed still have no power, no hot meals and, in many cases, no showers for 14 days.

Complete coverage: Disaster in Japan
Disaster in Japan: Latest developments, March 25

The uncertain nuclear situation halted work at the Fukushima Dai-ichi complex, where authorities have been scrambling to stop the overheated facility from leaking dangerous radiation. Low levels of radiation have been seeping out since the March 11 quake and tsunami knocked out the plant's cooling system, but a breach could mean a much larger release of contaminants. The most likely consequence would be contamination of the groundwater.

"The situation today at the Fukushima Dai-ichi power plant is still very grave and serious. We must remain vigilant," a somber Prime Minister Naoto Kan said. "We are not in a position where we can be optimistic. We must treat every development with the utmost care."

The possible breach in the plant's Unit 3 might be a crack or a hole in the stainless steel chamber of the reactor core or in the spent fuel pool that's lined with several feet of reinforced concrete. The temperature and pressure inside the core, which holds the fuel rods, remained stable and was far lower than what would further melt the core.

Nuclear expert James Acton told CBS' "The Early Show" Friday that if the reactor core has in fact been breached, "this creates the possibility of a much larger release of radiation into the environment than we have seen to date. But I think it's still worth emphasizing that the chance of a catastrophic release of radiation on the scale of Chernobyl is still very low, even at this point."

Suspicions of a possible breach were raised when two workers suffered skin burns after wading into water 10,000 times more radioactive than levels normally found in water in or around a reactor, the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency said.

Water with equally high radiation levels was found in the Unit 1 reactor building, Tokyo Electric officials said. Water was also discovered in Units 2 and 4, and the company said it suspects that, too, is radioactive. It was not clear whether the water in each unit came from the same source, officials said, but acknowledged the discovery would delay work inside the plant.

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The alarm Friday comes two weeks to the day since the magnitude-9 quake triggered a tsunami that enveloped cities along the northeastern coast and knocked out the Fukushima reactor's cooling systems.

Police said the official death toll jumped past 10,000 on Friday. With the cleanup and recovery operations continuing and more than 17,400 listed as missing, the final number of dead was expected to surpass 18,000.

Kan apologized to farmers and business owners for the toll the radiation has had on their livelihoods: Several countries have halted some food imports from areas near the plant after elevated levels of radiation were found in raw milk, seawater and 11 kinds of vegetables, including broccoli, cauliflower and turnips.

He also thanked utility workers, firefighters and military personnel for "risking their lives" to cool the overheated facility.

The nuclear crisis has compounded the challenges faced by a nation already saddled with a humanitarian disaster. Much of the frigid northeast remains a scene of despair and devastation, with Japan struggling to feed and house hundreds of thousands of homeless survivors, clear away debris and bury the dead.

"It's still like I'm in a dream," said Tomohiko Abe, a 45-year-old machinist who was in the devastated coastal town of Onagawa trying to salvage any belongings he could from his ruined car. "People say it's like a movie, but it's been worse than any movie I've ever seen."

Officials have evacuated residents within 12 miles (20 kilometers) of the plant and advised those up to 19 miles (30 kilometers) away to stay indoors to minimize exposure. The U.S. has recommended that people stay 50 miles (80 kilometers) away from the plant.

Government spokesman Yukio Edano insisted that people living 12 to 20 miles from the plant should still be safe from radiation as long as they stay indoors. But since supplies are not being delivered to the area fast enough, he said it may be better for residents to voluntarily evacuate to places with better facilities.

"If the current situation is protracted and worsens, then we will not deny the possibility of (mandatory) evacuation," he said.

Edano said the government "will continue to revisit this and as we have done so, we will provide whatever advice as necessary. Safety is the priority."

NISA spokesman Hidehiko Nishiyama said later that plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. was issued a "very strong warning" for safety violations and that a thorough review would be conducted once the situation stabilizes.

A breach could mean a leak has been seeping for days, likely since the hydrogen explosion at Unit 3 on March 14. It's not clear if any of the contaminated water has run into the ground. Radiation readings for the air were not yet available for Friday, but detections in recent days have shown no significant spike.

Elevated levels of radiation have turned up elsewhere, including the tap water in several areas of Japan. In Tokyo, the tap water showed radiation levels the government standard for infants, who are particularly vulnerable to cancer-causing radioactive iodine, officials said.

The scare caused a run on bottled water in the capital, and Tokyo municipal officials are distributing it to families with babies.

Previous radioactive emissions have come from intentional efforts to vent small amounts of steam through valves to prevent the core from bursting. However, releases from a breach could allow uncontrolled quantities of radioactive contaminants to escape into the surrounding ground or air.

Edano said "safety measures may not be adequate" and warned that may contribute to rising anxiety among people about how the disaster is being managed.

"We have to make sure that safety is secured for the people working in that area. We truly believe that is incumbent upon us," the chief Cabinet secretary told reporters.

Meanwhile, damage to factories was taking its toll on the world's third-largest economy and creating a ripple effect felt worldwide.

Nissan Motor Co. said it may move part of its engine production line to the United States because of damage to a plant.

The quake and tsunami are emerging as the world's most expensive natural disasters on record, wreaking up to $310 billion in damages, the government said.

"There is no doubt that we have immense economic and financial damage," Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda said. "It will be our task how to recover from the damage."

At Sendai's port, brand new Toyota cars lay crushed in piles. At the airport, flooded by the tsunami, U.S. Marines used bulldozers and shovels to shift wrecked cars that lay scattered like discarded toys.

Still, there were examples of resilience, patience and fortitude across the region.

In Soma, a hard-hit town along the Fukushima prefecture coast, rubble covered the block where Hiroshi Suzuki's home once stood. He watched as soldiers dug into mounds of timber had been neighbors' homes in search of bodies. Just three bodies have been pulled out.

"I never expected to have to live through anything like this," he said mournfully. Suzuki is one of Soma's luckier residents, but the tsunami washed away the shop where he sold fish and seaweed.

"My business is gone. I don't think I will ever be able to recover," said Suzuki, 59.

Still, he managed to find a bright side. "The one good thing is the way everyone is pulling together and helping each other. No one is stealing or looting," he said.

"It makes me feel proud to be Japanese."

[FreshxWater]

How has salt water been injected into the reactor cores when the plant has had no power to the pumps for 16 days now? Spraying water from firehoses into the buildings does nothing for the fuel rods in the SEALED cores.

Note the Fukushima plant photo on this CBS page. The plant looks very high above sea level. Something I've been posting for 16 days... I see NO EVIDENCE the plant was hit by the Tsunami. No water line, mud line, debris line... as we see EVERYWHERE the Tsunami did hit.

[Molly-Pchr]

We don't need nuclear power. We all need to conserve. We're a bunch of pigs, spoiled brats. I still see it, with all this talk of conservation, come to my town, and starting from 4 a.m., when the first deli opens up, the cars, trucks, pull up, go inside for 20 minutes to a half hour, leave their vehicles running and running. Multiply that by millions just in this country alone. What a savings if they cut the engine. Too lazy!! We are lazy. Local small businesses, the vehicle drivers come in, start their little trucks, diesels, leave them running to warm up, well past the legal 3-minute limit. I've written to our town fathers/mothers asking for No Idling Zone signs to be posted at some of these establishments that are near the Middle School. "Oh, yeah, we want clean air for our resident." Nothing's happened yet. So stop all the nuclear madness until you--we--all learn to respect what we have and use it wisely. To all the pro-nuclear, do you want it in your back yard??

[sjc_1]

They pump sea water into broken reactors then they spray water through the blown out roofs of the buildings and wonder where all the water is coming from.

[the0racle]

people seeking facts should google Fukushima and Union of Concerned Scientists. There are 2 problematic issues: Reactor vessels and spent fuel rods. Reactors are sealed in a concrete casing to prevent contact with the outside world. Coolant pipes and control conduits are the only thing that is supposed to breach the vessel containment. Pumping water over a sealed vessel does nothing. Coolant pipes must be accessed and 'hopefully' on the other side of the exchange unit, so the radioactive parts remain isolated. Engineers need to do this. Not military. Fuel rods are somewhat in the open. Without immersion in coolant water, the protective cases will heat up, burn, and spew radiation over a wide area. Burying these is not an option now as they are too 'hot'; they will still burn under the sand and concrete if buried. Will still leak, although more slowly. If buried too soon, and decomposing rod particles gather, this could reach critical mass. This is all old science and would best be run by scientists. The problem here, is one of greed, ignorance, and capitalism at work. Too little, too very late.

[FreshxWater]

You post what I've been asking for 15 days. I have NOT read UofCS, thanks for the tip. The reactors are sealed, have NO POWER thus no coolant flow. Power has just been taken to the plant on the 23. Lights went on in 1 control room the 24th. It's too dangerous to power up because of explosion risks (direct quote from TEPCO) What has been cooling the reactors for 15 days? Maybe CBS can find out? I'm afraid we're a country of idiots/country of Corporate Shill Media who can't ask detailed questions and thus will suffer a collapse of our country.

[thesevenveils]

It is unbelievable that Japan's military did not make securing this nuclear power plant the primary focus of recovery efforts from day one. The Japanese military has the portable power equipment, the water pumps and other equipment that could have kept core temperatures at safe level until normal control of the plant could be restored. As it stands only civilians have been involved and as it was likened earlier last week, they were as effective as a bucket brigade was in the great Chicago fire.

[jscott418-21618367473133020464]

Its interesting that when things seem really serious these people don't seem to know what's going on? I love how the media led people to believe that getting power back to the plant would solve everything. I guess now we know that things probably got much worse before the power ever got back to the plant. At least we know now that its not just American companies that lie to save themselves.

[bobnjersey]

[Japanese leaders defended their decision not to evacuate people from a wider area around the plant, insisting they are safe if they stay indoors.]
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except for the fact that there are thousands without any 'indoors' to stay within.

[Esquirew]

Erasmus111 still thinks the Earth is flat.

Progress without risk is stagnation. There is No Progress without Risk. Risk often costs lives.

We landed a man on the moon, but not until several/many "space pioneers" lost their lives.

Gus Grissom once said that his biggest concern was "that the lowest bidder gets the contract."

Sorry, erasmus111, better ideas NEVER come from a stagnant mind.

[erasmus111]

by louiville12 March 25, 2011 3:22 PM EDT
I don't know why she thinks they can bury it any time soon would take months if not longer (years) in the mean time the reactor unchecked would only get worse.


It is getting worse, NOW, dimwit!

And I don't think it takes YEARS to dump cement in it.

[erasmus111]

by Esquirew March 25, 2011 2:18 PM EDT
Progress without risk is stagnation. There is No Progress without Risk. Risk often costs lives.


It's one thing when it costs a few lives, but when it costs MILLIONS of lives, then that isn't what I call progress. When it can cost MILLIONS of lives, then people need to have a say in it.



"We landed a man on the moon, but not until several/many "space pioneers" lost their lives."


Hmmmmm, exactly WHAT did we gain from that?


Read more: http://www.cbsnews.com/8601-202_162-20047058.html?assetTypeId=30&blogId=&tag=contentBody;commentWrapper#ixzz1HeJo7FOx

[wheresmycountry]

This is their BP spill.

[svenskasandy]

If milk is radiated beyond human consumption, that means the cows are radiated. They will get sick too. OMG. Poor Japan. i wish i could help them. I can't imagine 18000 people dead because o this and maybe more to come.

[erasmus111]

They could help themselves by BURYING them! NOW, before it's too late. Why do more people have to suffer and die?

[erasmus111]

by louiville12 March 25, 2011 3:24 PM EDT
Ummm you do KNOW that no one has so far died from the radiation, they ALL (18,000) died because of the massive tsunami wave, right?


Damn, you're stupid. No, no one has died YET. But they will. No doubt about that.