Japan: No Plans To Expand Fukushima Nuclear Exclusion Zone
By Ria Novosti
Japanese officials have no plans to expand the evacuation zone around the troubled Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power plant despite high radiation levels, the Dow Jones agency said on Thursday.
A spokesman for Japan’s Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency (NISA), Hidehiko Nishiyama, said the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) demanded to expand the exclusion zone in connection with its recent findings, but there were no immediate evacuation plans.
IAEA reported on Wednesday that high radiation levels were detected in the village of Iitate some 40 kilometers from the plant.
The government has established a 20-km evacuation zone around the plant and advised residents of the further 10-km band to stay indoors.
Northeastern Japan was hit by a powerful earthquake and tsunami on March 11, which damaged the cooling systems of the plant, causing reactors to overheat and explode. People were evacuated after radiation leaks were registered in the area.
