Fukushima: Ännu fler evakueras...

The Japanese government said it was considering extending its evacuation order to a 30km (19 mile) radius of the damaged Fukushima reactors. ... "We are preparing for more evacuations," said Hatori Norio, who serves on the town's disaster committee. The town is also preparing for the possibility that the evacuees will stay for the duration. He said the town had begun putting evacuees on the waiting list for public housing, recognizing that it may be years before they return to their homes...  

On Thursday three workers were exposed to unusually high levels of radiation after stepping in contaminated water in the turbine building of the crippled No. 3 reactor, which they were trying to cool. Two received possible beta ray burns to their legs....  "The contaminated water had 10,000 times the amount of radiation as would be found in water circulating from a normally operating reactor,"... 

The reactor contains 170 tons of radioactive fuel in its core, and is the only one of the facility's six reactors that contains the potentially more dangerous plutonium-uranium mixed oxide fuel. Thursday's accident forced a temporary halt to work on two reactors while technicians check radiation levels. "We should try to avoid delays if at all possible, but we also need to ensure that the people working there are safe," Nishiyama said....

The official death toll from the earthquake and tsunami has risen above 10,000, according to the national police agency. But with more than 17,400 listed as missing, the final number of dead is expected to rise significantly...