Idaho fire prompts evacuation of nuclear facilities

By Laura Zuckerman

Salmon, Idaho (Reuters) - firefighters fought on Thursday a fast-growing 28,000-acre wildfire rages in several miles of spent nuclear fuel in a US Department of energy lab in the stored to control high desert of Eastern Idaho.

The growth and the intensity of the blaze, the nationwide largest active wildfire, who order Idaho National Laboratory asked a key facility at the site of 890 square mile of all unnecessary persons evacuated, lab officials said.

The materials and fuels complex, about 38 km from Idaho Falls consists of facilities for the examination, treatment and processing spent nuclear fuel and irradiated materials, radioactive waste, according to the lab Web site.

Technician lead this work with remotely operated tools and equipment within shielded Chambers contamination and radiation contain.

Fire crews took preventive measures, to protect the plant building, also by buffer zones of gravel or sand, lab spokesman said Ethan Huffman are surrounded.

A statement late Thursday the laboratory, which employs around 6,000 employees, contractors, including added: "There is no known radiological threat to the public at this time."

Earlier in the day, nearly 50 firefighters from the laboratory and the US Bureau of land concentrated their efforts on a separate facility in the spent nuclear rods, according to the laboratory are stored to protect management.

Additional radioactive rods cooled in storage ponds further South at a site called the Idaho nuclear technology and Engineering Center remain unchanged.

The Centre of workers "Protection have made on the site as a precaution," said the lab in a late update without further explanation.

"they (the fire) from all directions at the moment;" fighting winds dominate every minute "Lab spokeswoman Sara Prentice said Thursday afternoon."

The exact distance between the top of is rapidly spreading blaze and different facilities on site laboratory, which contains three working reactors, Thursday night was not known exactly, lab officials said.

But flames in several miles sites where abgebrannter fuel, including the materials and fuels complex and kept the so-called naval reactors facility is to achieve.

CAUSE UNDER INVESTIGATION

Thursdays Incendio came three days after crews a previous fire deleted by ARTEMISIA and meadows on the northwestern edge of the property burned.

, Said this brand of a vehicle with a tyre blown a highway in the vicinity of laboratory was thrown drag Government officials his metal edge along the roadway.

The cause of the new fire was examined. It is one of five forest fires which broke out Thursday between lightning, high temperatures and strong winds in Eastern Idaho.

Fires have charred tens of thousands of acres in Idaho and in the Northern Rockies in recent days, including parts of Montana, Yellowstone National Park and Northwestern Wyoming.

The national weather service on Thursday still fire warnings for the region due to the rising temperatures, dwindling moisture and forecasted storm with wind gusts up to 35 miles per hour increased.

Windy, hot, a separate fire was dry conditions also difficulties on Thursday for the 170 firefighters assigned to flaming control in forested high country of the Eastern Idaho and Western Montana.

The saddle burnt complex blaze, the 21.100 acres in Idaho of salmon Challis national forest and the Bitterroot National forest, Montana, burned the bosses with such intensity and in such rugged terrain, triggered as it insecure, to launch an attack with the exception of air.

"These are not the kind of conditions, insert the people," Bob MacGregor said US Forest Service spokesman.

Ground crews worked Thursday protect 30 isolated houses and perimeter in advance of the flames coming.

Authorities in Montana, said residents of the 50 houses West of Darby to prepare for evacuation and smoke in the Bitterroot Valley called upon to advise health authorities, small children and people with respiratory, heart problems, inside to stay.

(Edit Johnston by Steve Gorman, Jerry Norton, and Cynthia)

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Japan promotes a wider evacuation of reactor area

TOKYO - developed new characters on Friday that parts crippled nuclear power station Fukushima Daiichi were so damaged and contaminated that it would be even more difficult to bring the plant under control soon.

At the same time, Japanese began officials who encourage people to evacuate a larger band of territory around the complex.

In an interview with a national audience at a press conference on Friday night, two weeks after the earthquake of magnitude 9.0 and the devastating tsunami, which it followed Prime Minister Naoto Kan dodged a reporter of the question whether the Government was ordering a complete evacuation, said officials were simply follows the recommendation of the Commission for Japan nuclear safety.

"The situation requires more caution," Mr Kan, heavy and tired looking, said the nation. "Our measures are designed to prevent, that the circumstances worse." The authorities said she would now help people leave wanted the range of 12 to 19 miles outside the plant, and that they now "voluntary evacuation" promotion, from the area.

These people indoors, had stay March 15 get, while to evacuate the facility had ordered within a 12-mile radius. The United States has to remain at least 50 miles recommended its citizens.

Mr Kan said "The State of the system is still very precarious,". "We work hard to ensure that it not be worse." "We must ensure that it no further deterioration."

In a new sign of the contamination problem that said nuclear and industrial Agency on Saturday a sample of sea water taken Friday from a monitoring station in the work the level showed the iodine-131 to 50 becquerel per cubic centimeter - 1,250 times of the permitted.

Drink a half litre of water would be tantamount to getting a 1 milliSievert dose, the Agency said, as the amount that a person obtains a year from natural sources.

Hidehiko Nishiyama, Deputy Director of the Agency, said that he expected the iodine quickly, dilute to minimize the impact on wildlife, General and noted that fishing activities in the area was suspended after the Quake and tsunami.

A sign of the possible deterioration of the plant itself came to the reactor workers, the attempted, an electric cable with a pump in a turbine connect no. 3. building next to the reactor were injured when she entered into water, which was found significantly more radioactive than normal be. On Friday, officials and experts offered conflicting explanations of what wrong gegangen-but stressed all greater damage to the reactor systems and more pollution had earlier indicated it as officials.

Two workers were when poured water over their boots and said to their feet and ankles, officials burned and exposed to radiation. A third worker was not the same exposure higher boots and suffering.

As the affected workers, many of those are subcontractors of Tokyo electric power, who are paid a small daily wage for hours of work in dangerous conditions risk of their lives. They are sometimes ill-equipped and trained for their job.

On the Saturday concentrated to the workers to try, the lighting reactor No. 2 central control room, an important step towards the restoration of unity cooling system restore. You were once again pump prepare units, the No. 1, no. 2 and no. 3 after days with salt water to fresh water.

Said the National Institute of radiological sciences, that the radioactivity of the water, the the three injured workers in joined had 10,000 times the level normally in the coolant water was seen in the work. It said that the amount of radiation that the workers were intended, to the water exposed to have two to six Sieverts was.

Eight times, the new 250 milliSievert is even two Sieverts annual exposure limit value for workers in total be set in the days following the disaster; the previous limit was 100. Tokyo Electric officials said that water had been found with an equally high radiation in the reactor No. 1 building, reported the associated press.

Skin demands from two to six of Sieverts j. Brenner, Director of the Center for radiological research at Columbia University caused severe burns, according to Dr. David. But if these cans reach the whole body and not only the skin "You are a very high risk of dying," he said.

Hiroko Tabuchi and David Jolly reported from Tokyo and Keith Bradsher from Hong Kong. Takeshi Takizawa from New York reporting helped Tokyo and Denise Grady.

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