Akhir 11, 1432, March 16, 2011, SPA -- The inner shell of a quake-and tsunami-damaged nuclear reactor in Japan might be damaged and radiation was so high there that employees were ordered out of the complex, the government's top spokesman said Wednesday. The evacuation order was lifted an hour later and workers trying to prevent a meltdown at the reactor were allowed to re-enter, the broadcaster NHK said. White smoke was seen rising Wednesday from reactor number 3 at the plant in Fukushima that is home to six reactors after a fire broke out for a second day at reactor number 4. About 50 workers remained at the plant to try to cool down the reactors. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said there was no definitive information about the inner containment shell on reactor number 3. It is one of the reactor's three containment structures designed to prevent leakage of radioactive materials, and Edano said radioactive steam might have leaked Wednesday. Radioactive emissions at the plant reached record levels overnight. Measurements of 1,000 millisievert were taken and on Wednesday morning, 600 to 800 millisieverts were measured, Edano said. Being exposed to 1,000 millisieverts can cause radiation poisoning. That dose is 250 times what people usually receive in a year, but people can experience health problems at a dose of 400 millisieverts, according to a report of DPA. At reactor number 4, a fire had broken out Tuesday, releasing significant amounts of radiation into the environment. The fire had been believed to be under control Tuesday before a blaze flared again in the same part of the plant Wednesday.
