Radiation soars at Japan reactor

Reports from Japan say radioactivity in water at reactor 2 at the damaged Fukushima nuclear plant is 10 million times the usual level.

• Workers trying to cool the reactor core to avoid a meltdown have been evacuated, Reuters news agency says.

• Earlier, Japan's nuclear agency that levels of radioactive iodine in the sea near the plant have risen to 1,850 times the usual level.

• Leaking water at reactor 2 has been measured at 1,000 millisieverts/hour - 10 million times higher than when the plant is operating normally.

Japan earthquake 2011

• The plant was damaged in the deadly 11 March earthquake and tsunami.

• The death toll has now passed 10,000, and more than 17,440 people are missing.

• Japanese government spokesman Yukio Edano said on Saturday that Tepco had to be more transparent in the wake of an incident this week in which three workers were exposed to radiation levels 10,000 times higher than normal, suffering burns.

• Emergency workers are continuing to cool the reactors in an effort to prevent a meltdown. They have now switched to using more favoured fresh water as a coolant, rather than sea water.

• The team of more than 700 engineers http://1bornean.blogspot.com/ has found radioactive water in three of the six reactors.

• China, Singapore, Hong Kong and other Asian importers have banned some imports of vegetables, seafood and milk products for fear of contamination.Australia, the European Union, the United States and Russia have followed suit.

• The Japanese government has put the rebuilding cost at $309bn (£191.8bn).

source:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/