X

High radiation levels at Fukushima reactor is bad, bad news

The fatal levels will keep officials from stabilizing the area as we approach the 6th anniversary of the nuclear plant's disaster.

Jessica Dolcourt Senior Director, Commerce & Content Operations
Jessica Dolcourt is a passionate content strategist and veteran leader of CNET coverage. As Senior Director of Commerce & Content Operations, she leads a number of teams, including Commerce, How-To and Performance Optimization. Her CNET career began in 2006, testing desktop and mobile software for Download.com and CNET, including the first iPhone and Android apps and operating systems. She continued to review, report on and write a wide range of commentary and analysis on all things phones, with an emphasis on iPhone and Samsung. Jessica was one of the first people in the world to test, review and report on foldable phones and 5G wireless speeds. Jessica began leading CNET's How-To section for tips and FAQs in 2019, guiding coverage of topics ranging from personal finance to phones and home. She holds an MA with Distinction from the University of Warwick (UK).
Expertise Content strategy, team leadership, audience engagement, iPhone, Samsung, Android, iOS, tips and FAQs.
Jessica Dolcourt
gettyimages-183797541.jpg
Frank Ramspott/Getty Images

Time to reconsider that trip to the east coast of Japan.

A containment vessel at the destroyed Fukushima No. 1 power plant has reached off-the-chart radiation levels, reported the Japan Times.

The reading of 530 sieverts per hour represents the highest level of radiation the reactor site has seen since three nuclear meltdowns hit the power plant in March 2011 almost six years ago -- and also among the most deadly.

To put the danger to human life into perspective, the 530 sieverts reading is high enough to prove fatal during even brief exposure, compounding the problem of containment for the government and Tokyo Power Electric Company (TEPCO). 4 sieverts would kill one in two people, and 1 seivert could lead to hair loss and infertility, the Japan Times noted, citing the National Institute of Radiological Sciences.

Experts believe that escaped melted fuel can account for the spiked reading.

The Fukushima 1 Nuclear Power Plant suffered a series of meltdowns and explosions after Tsunami-triggered earthquakes crippled Japan's coast. The cleanup is expected to take decades.

Update, 3:24 p.m. PT: Corrects that it's the 6th year anniversary since the Fukushima disaster.

Solving for XX: The industry seeks to overcome outdated ideas about "women in tech."