Originally posted by Wikinews. Wikinews content appears under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 license except where specified. As these articles are static snapshots of news items that may be later updated, they may not represent the latest or final revision of that article, and posted information may be only preliminary. Earthquake-damaged Fukushima nuclear power plant triggers evacuation ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- March 11, 2011 Original URL: http://en.wikinews.org/wiki/Earthquake-damaged_Fukushima_nuclear_power_plant_triggers_evacuation Japan's government has declared its first ever "nuclear emergency" after pressure rises in the No. 1 reactor at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant, triggering an evacuation of civilians within a 3 km radius of the plant, affecting approximately 3,000 people, with anyone living within a 10km radius of the station being instructed to stay indoors and take necessary precautions. To relieve growing pressure in the plant, slightly radioactive steam will be released from the reactor. The Tokyo Electric Power Company's 40-year old nuclear facility, 270 km NE of Tokyo, reported mechanical difficulties with its cooling system, although the automated shutdown systems worked correctly. With the core reaction shut down the plant is no longer actively generating heat, but the fuel rods continue to generate excess heat and radiation and need constant cooling. The cooling system runs a constant flow of water to take the heat away from the submerged fuel rods, but the pumping system requires electricity to operate even after the plant is no longer producing electricity itself -- generally from back-up diesel or natural gas generators. == Sources == * http://content.usatoday.com/communities/ondeadline/post/2011/03/japan-to-release-radioactive-vapor-at-disabled-nuclear-reactor/1 * https://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/12/world/asia/12nuclear.html?_r=1 * http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/asia-pacific/pressure-rises-in-damaged-japanese-nuclear-reactor/article1938199/ * http://tvnz.co.nz/world-news/live-updates-japan-earthquake-4058682 .