Concerns Of Radiation From Spent Fuel Rods

Concerns Of Radiation From Spent Fuel Rods

The problem at reactor No. 4 was apparently brewing for some time before Tuesday's fire. The company says the temperature of the spent fuel pool reached 183 degrees Fahrenheit on Monday — twice the normal level. It apparently went higher, but a "technical failure" prevented later readings.

One concern is that the spent fuel pool may not have the radiation containment barriers that protect the reactor's fission vessel. Thus, melting fuel rods could become a significant source of radiation leakage into the environment.


Radiation levels spiked as high as 400 milliSieverts per hour at the plant's main gate during Tuesday's fire and explosion — a potentially dangerous and even fatal level if it's sustained. But the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reports the levels later dropped to much lower readings.

Still, company officials evacuated all but 50 of the facility's 800 workers for their own safety. The IAEA says it's seeking "details about the status of all workers, reactors and spent fuel at the Fukushima Daiichi plant."

It is not clear how much radiation ex
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