Japan To Evacuate More Towns Around Crippled Nuclear Plant
 

By Matt Smith, CNN
April 11, 2011 6:40 a.m. EDT

Tokyo (CNN) -- Japan's government Monday called for evacuations for several towns beyond the danger zone already declared around the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, warning that residents could receive high doses of radiation over the coming months.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said the municipalities are likely to see long-term radiation levels that exceed international safety standards, and he warned that the month-old crisis at Fukushima Daiichi was not yet over.
"Things are relatively more stable, and things are stabilizing," he said. "However, we need to be ready for the possibility that things may turn for the worse."
And minutes after he spoke, a fresh earthquake rattled the country, forcing workers to evacuate the plant and knocking out power to the three damaged reactors for about 40 minutes, said the plant's owner, the Tokyo Electric Power Company. The magnitude-6.6 tremor came a month to the day after the magnitude-9 quake and tsunami that knocked out the plant's cooling systems and followed one of the same size Thursday night.
Edano said residents of five towns and cities around the plant -- Katsuo, Kawamata, Namie, Iitate and parts of Minami Soma -- should evacuate within a month if they have not already done so. Parts of Namie and Minami Soma are already within the 20-kilometer (12.5-mile) evacuation radius drawn in the first days of the accident, while Iitate, Kawamata and Katsuo are beyond the 20- to 30-kilometer belt in which residents have been told to stay indoors.
"This policy does not require immediate evacuation right away, but we take the long-term perspective, considering the long-term effect of radiation on your health," Edano told reporters.
In five others -- Hirono, Kawauchi, Naraha and parts of Tamura and the rest of Minami Soma -- should be prepared to clear out soon. Hirono and Kawauchi lie in the outer belt of the current zone, while Naraha and Tamura are beyond the current 30-kilometer radius.
"If you're living in these towns and villages, I'm sorry. We may cause you some inconvenience," Edano said.
Evacuation orders have so far covered about 85,000 people inside the 20-kilometer zone and another 62,000 within 30 kilometers, Fukushima Prefecture officials told CNN.

The anti-nuclear group Greenpeace, which had warned about higher radiation levels in towns outside the evacuation zone two weeks ago, called Edano's declaration a good step.
Jan van de Putte, a Greenpeace radiation safety expert who took readings in the town of Iitate, said the levels of radioactivity are likely to remain dangerous "for years to come."
The announcement came as Japan marked one month since the March 11 disaster. Tokyo Electric has been struggling to cool down the overheated reactors and pools of spent fuel since the tsunami knocked out the plant's coolant system.

Tokyo Electric President Masataka Shimizu visited the off-site headquarters for authorities attempting to manage the disaster Monday and met with local officials, emerging to issue an apology for the situation.
In comments carried by Japanese public broadcaster NHK, Shimizu -- who was hospitalized for "fatigue and stress" in late March -- also expressed regret that he didn't apologize to Fukushima Prefecture residents before Monday.