Radiation Dangers Heightened at Japanese Nuclear Plant

The steel container protecting a nuclear reactor at a plant facing a possible meltdown was not damaged in an explosion that injured four workers and destroyed the exterior walls of the plant, a Japanese government spokesman said today.

The blast at the Fukushima Daiichi plant occurred outside the containment vessel and did not damage the nuclear reactor itself, which would cause radioactive material to leak out, a government spokesman Yukio Edano said.

Contrary to initial reports of radiation levels rising around the Fukushima Daiichi plant after the blast, Edano said that radiation is decreasing and that the pressure inside the reactor is also dropping.

"Based on this situation, we are concerned about the nuclear reactor and have decided to fill the reactor with sea water" to further decrease pressure and cool down the reactor, Edano said.

Flooding the containment vessel with sea water mixed with boron instead of fresh water is an unusual measure, according to Robert Alvarez, a senior scholar at the Institute for Policy Studies, who described it as a "Hail Mary pass" but a necessary step to keep the reactor core covered and the containment vessel cool. The restoration of power to the plant remains critical to prevent against the possibility of an outright meltdown.