Around 140,000 people were told to stay in their houses after the explosions at the facility, and a subsequent fire, raised the levels of radiation leaking from the crippled plant.
In a televised statement, Japanese prime minister Naoto Kan said radiation had spread from the stricken reactors of the Fukushima plant, all the way along the north-eastern coast of the country.
Officials in Japan told the International Atomic Energy Agency the reactor fire was in a fuel storage pond, where used nuclear fuel is kept cool, and that 'radioactivity is being released directly into the atmosphere'.
Lam Ching-wan, chemical pathologist at the University of Hong Kong, warned: 'The explosions could expose the population to longer-term radiation, which can raise the risk of cancer.
Yesterday, around 2,000 bodies were swept ashore on the north-east coast of Japan, following the devastating tsunami which hit the country last Friday.
The official death toll stands at around 3,000, however, police believe at least 10,000 died in the Miyago province alone, which has a population of 2.3 million.
Officials in Japan told the International Atomic Energy Agency the reactor fire was in a fuel storage pond, where used nuclear fuel is kept cool, and that 'radioactivity is being released directly into the atmosphere'.
Lam Ching-wan, chemical pathologist at the University of Hong Kong, warned: 'The explosions could expose the population to longer-term radiation, which can raise the risk of cancer.
Yesterday, around 2,000 bodies were swept ashore on the north-east coast of Japan, following the devastating tsunami which hit the country last Friday.
The official death toll stands at around 3,000, however, police believe at least 10,000 died in the Miyago province alone, which has a population of 2.3 million.
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