As radiation levels around the Fukushima nuclear plant reach worryingly high, the crippled power plant has sent waves across the world as countries now face decline in support for nuclear power even as a catastrophe looms ahead for the earthquake-torn Japan.
Start the slideshow to view photos depicting the global ramifications of the troubled Japan nuclear power plant:
Quoting International Atomic Energy Agency officials, Kyodo news agency reported that radiation levels in some areas within a 20-kilometer (12-mile) zone around Japan's troubled Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant is 1,600 higher than the norm.IAEA specialists found radiation levels ranging between 2 and 160 microsievert per hour in areas around the plant.The normal level for the area should not exceed 0.1 microsievert per hour.The highest radiation level of 161 microsievert per hour has been detected in the town of Namie, Fukushima Prefecture, Kyodo added.PHOTO: Specialists of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) observe and collect information for the IAEA member states about the situation of the damaged Japanese Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power complex at the Incident and Emergency Centre (IEC) at U.N. headquarters in Vienna March 21, 2011. REUTERS/Herwig PrammerU.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Chairman Gregory Jaczko (C) is joined by commissioners (L-R) William Magwood, Kristine Svinicki, Jaczko, George Apostolakis and William Ostendorff at a meeting to discuss Japan's nuclear problems at the NRC's headquarters in Rockville, Maryland, March 21, 2011.NRC held a review of the Japan nuclear crisis implications for America.Japan's Fukushima nuclear power plant has been experiencing problems after an earthquake and tsunami devastated the country on March 11.REUTERS/Larry DowningThe growing concerns over the dangers that Fukushima nuclear plant threaten have taken a toll on the support for nuclear power across the globe.A BBC report, quoting an opinion poll, states that Britons have grown worried about the safety of nuclear plants.Out of those who support the building of new nuclear power stations, half expressed concerns over safety while 75 per cent cited energy efficiency or renewables as their priority for investment, against 9 per cent for nuclear.The survey, commissioned by Friends of the Earth from GfK NOP, polled 1,000 people by phone over the weekend, a week after Japan's crisis began, the report said.In Canada, a proposed Nuclear Power Plant Project has come under intense scrutiny.As hearing on the proposed expansion of Ontario's Darlington nuclear plant began Monday, environmental opposition attempted to suspend talks on the unfolding nuke crisis in Japan, Bussiness Review Canada reported.PHOTO: Smoke is seen coming from the area of the No. 3 reactor of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Tomioka, Fukushima Prefecture in northeastern Japan in this handout photo distributed by the Tokyo Electric Power Co. on March 21, 2011. Workers at the quake- and tsunami-hit plant were evacuated after smoke was seen rising from the reactor, among the most badly damaged at the six-reactor plant. Picture taken March 21, 2011. REUTERS/Tokyo Electric Power CAs Japan continues to battle from within against the radiation from the Fukushima nuclear plant, the World Health Organization has blown the alarm on fears on food and water contamination in Japan.
REUTERS/Yuriko NakaoThe travel and aviation industry has also been hit by fears of the Japan nuclear crisis.While countries have deployed checks on radioactivity levels at the airports for the flights landing from Japan, aviation authorities are monitoring the radiation levels at the Japanese nuclear power plant.On Tuesday, Germany's Lufthansa airline announced that its daily flights to Tokyo will be diverted due to huge delays at the city's main international airport, becoming the first major European carrier to do so.British Airways, Air France, Swiss and Alitalia said their flights to the Japanese capital were currently operating as scheduled.The nuclear fears have also managed to chase away tourists from Japan even as the annual cherry blossom festival approaches.“The increased levels of radiation ... have raised many fears, so I see many tourists avoiding Japan for a year, at least,” Takayuki Suzuki, a retail analyst at Primo Research Japan told IOL Travel.PHOTO: A member of the Spanish Nuclear Safety Council checks radioactivity levels in belongings after a government-chartered plane carrying 154 passengers from Japan landed at Torrejon airbase, outside Madrid, March 21, 2011. Global anxiety rose over radiation from a nuclear plant in Fukushima that was damaged after Japan was struck by an earthquake and tsunami on March 11, even as engineers had some success in the battle to avert disaster from the world's worst atomic crisis since Chernobyl. REUTERS/Sergio PerezGermany was quick to react to the crisis at Japan's Fukushima Daiichi plant, announcing last week that it would suspend operations at all seven of its pre-1980 nuclear plants.PHOTO: A protester holds a placard demanding Germany's nuclear power plants be shut down during a demonstration outside the Chancellery in Berlin, March 21, 2011. The placard reads, "We only have one world! Shut them (nuclear power plants) off now!" REUTERS/Thomas PeterEnvironmental activists shout slogans during a rally demanding the government halt the building of more nuclear plants in South Korea, in Seoul March 22, 2011.Radiation has been released into the atmosphere in Japan at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant run by Tokyo Electric Power Co. on the country's northeast coast, which was badly damaged after a massive earthquake and tsunami on March 11. The words on the banner says, "Stop making more nuclear plants." REUTERS/Truth Leem
