TOKYO: An explosion shook a quake damaged Japanese nuclear power plant Monday, injuring six people, but officials said the reactor container was not breached and there was no major rise in radiation.
The blast was caused by a build up of hydrogen in the building around the No. 3 reactor at the Fukushima Number One plant, said chief government spokesman Yukio Edano.
A similar explosion hit the building containing the No. 1 reactor at the plant on Saturday, the day after a devastating earthquake and tsunami struck a large swathe of the country's Pacific coast north of Tokyo.
Edano said it was unlikely the blast had damaged the reactor's container, and pressure in the reactor remains stable.
"The soundness of the reactor container has been maintained," he told reporters. "The figures do not indicate a high level of radiation."
Officials who have been battling a possible partial meltdown are injecting seawater into the reactors to replace lost cooling water a procedure that would render the 40 year old plant unusable.
Earthquake prone Japan uses nuclear power to generate a third of its electricity.
The nuclear plants shut down automatically during a quake, but the loss of power in the area and tsunami damage to plant generators apparently shut down cooling systems.
Authorities have declared an evacuation zone within a 20 km (12 mile) radius of the plant and evacuated 210,000 people.
Some 746 people patients, elderly people and care workers at three hospitals and nursing homes remained within the 20 km area Monday.
"We have strongly advised all the people still within the evacuation area to go inside nearby facilities," said nuclear safety agency spokesman Ryo Miyake.
A Fukushima official said 311 had so far been moved out.
Edano and plant operator TEPCO (Tokyo Electric Power Company) said six workers four TEPCO employees and two contract workers were injured in Monday's blast. They were all said to be conscious.
Jiji Press said four troops were also hurt.
Authorities have announced plans for scheduled rolling power cuts in areas served by TEPCO to make up for the loss of power from crippled nuclear plants.
Eleven of the country's roughly 50 nuclear reactors, located in the worst affected areas, shut down following the earthquake.
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