An explosion was reported at 0610 local time Tuesday morning at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant 's second reactor. The blast is feared to have breached the pressure chamber. The explosion is thought to have been in the reactor's "pressure suppression room" - part of the cooling system. It damaged the area that contains water to cool the reactor, but it is not yet clear whether it affected the containment structure near the core. After the explosion, radiation levels near the facility rose from 1,941 to 8,712 microsieverts , a level still short of that required to cause immediate health effects, and radiation decreased again some time after the explosion. The legal limit for radiation in one year is a thousand microseiverts, but radiation sickness does not occur until a million microseiverts. Workers at the 40-year old plant have been struggling to deal with the aftermath of Friday's massive earthquake and tsunami. On Saturday, a hydrogen explosion occurred at the number one reactor, followed by a second explosion on Sunday to the number three reactor. The number two reactor was reported to be overheating, with exposed fuel rods, earlier today. Nearly 185,000 people have been evacuated from the 20 km zone around the plant. 
An explosion was reported at 0610 local time Tuesday morning at the 's second reactor. The blast is feared to have breached the pressure chamber. The explosion is thought to have been in the reactor's "pressure suppression room" — part of the cooling system. It damaged the area that contains water to cool the reactor, but it is not yet clear whether it affected the containment structure near the core. After the explosion, radiation levels near the facility rose from 1,941 to 8,712 , a level still short of that required to cause immediate health effects, and radiation decreased again some time after the explosion. The legal limit for radiation in one year is a thousand microseiverts, but radiation sickness does not occur until a million microseiverts. Workers at the 40-year old plant have been struggling to deal with the aftermath of Friday's massive earthquake and tsunami. On Saturday, a hydrogen explosion occurred at the number one reactor, followed by a second explosion on Sunday to the number three reactor. The number two reactor was reported to be overheating, with exposed fuel rods, earlier today. Nearly 185,000 people have been evacuated from the 20 km zone around the plant. Related news
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