Japan Nuclear Power Plant

Japanese officials struggled Saturday to avert the possibility of a meltdown at two major nuclear power plants whose emergency cooling systems were damaged by Friday's earthquake and tsunami. Emergency officials ordered the evacuation Saturday of all civilians within a six-mile radius of the Fukushima No. 1 plant, which is about 150 miles northeast of Tokyo, after its normal backup cooling systems failed and it became necessary to release radioactive steam to relieve pressure that could cause an explosion.

Traces of radioactive iodine have been found in milk from San Luis Obispo, but officials say the amounts are so small that they pose no risk. "People need to realize that really trace amounts do not pose a threat to public health," said Mike Sicilia, a spokesman for the California Department of Public Health. "The levels we detected are nearly 5,000 times less than FDA standards. " The radioactive material is iodine-131, which is produced by nuclear fission. It hadn't been found in California milk samples before fallout from Japan's ravaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant drifted across the Pacific.

Japan's nuclear safety agency plans to release what it described as "slightly radioactive" vapor from a nuclear power plant damaged by Friday's record 8.9 earthquake, authorities said. The temperature in one reactor's nuclear fuel rods has built up to 50% above normal levels since the six-reactor facility was shut down following the most powerful earthquake on record in the island nation, the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency reported. No radiation leakage had been detected, Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano told reporters, but evacuation of about 3,000 residents in the surrounding area was underway as a precaution.

Japan's nuclear safety agency plans to release what it described as "slightly radioactive" vapor from a nuclear power plant damaged by Friday's record 8.9 earthquake, authorities said. The temperature in one reactor's nuclear fuel rods has built up to 50% above normal levels since the six-reactor facility was shut down following the most powerful earthquake on record in the island nation, the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency reported. No radiation leakage had been detected, Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano told reporters, but evacuation of about 3,000 residents in the surrounding area was underway as a precaution.

Traces of radioactive iodine have been found in milk from San Luis Obispo, but officials say the amounts are so small that they pose no risk. "People need to realize that really trace amounts do not pose a threat to public health," said Mike Sicilia, a spokesman for the California Department of Public Health. "The levels we detected are nearly 5,000 times less than FDA standards. " The radioactive material is iodine-131, which is produced by nuclear fission. It hadn't been found in California milk samples before fallout from Japan's ravaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant drifted across the Pacific.

A team of U.N. nuclear inspectors arrived in Japan today to assess the condition of a nuclear power plant severely damaged in an earthquake last month, Japanese officials said. The magnitude 6.8 quake on July 16 caused numerous malfunctions and leaks at the plant and raised safety concerns about Japan's nuclear power stations. Plant officials, who said they had not foreseen such a powerful quake hitting the facility, repeatedly underreported its impact afterward.

Standing on the deck of his 91-foot trawler, veteran fisherman Tomoyuki Kondou winces over reports that radioactivity from Japan's damaged nuclear power plant in nearby Fukushima has contaminated the local food supply after this month's deadly earthquake and tsunami. The bespectacled third-generation angler has heard the warnings that milk, spinach and other vegetables grown around the plant have been found to contain traces of the radioactive isotopes iodine-131 and cesium-137. Now Kondou and others in Kesennuma worry that radiation from the seaside nuclear plant might also affect the region's long-bustling fishing industry, which provides tuna, oysters, shark, squid and seaweed to restaurants and supermarkets throughout Japan and around the world.

Japanese officials struggled Saturday to avert the possibility of a meltdown at two major nuclear power plants whose emergency cooling systems were damaged by Friday's earthquake and tsunami. Emergency officials ordered the evacuation Saturday of all civilians within a six-mile radius of the Fukushima No. 1 plant, which is about 150 miles northeast of Tokyo, after its normal backup cooling systems failed and it became necessary to release radioactive steam to relieve pressure that could cause an explosion.