Japan's science ministry says radiation levels of up to 0.17 millisieverts per hour have been detected about 30 kilometers northwest of the quake-damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

Experts say exposure to those levels for 6 hours would result in absorption of the maximum level considered safe for 1 year.

The government has instructed residents living within a 20 to 30 kilometer radius of the plant to stay indoors.

The ministry also observed radiation levels of 0.0183 to 0.0011 millisieverts per hour at most of the observation points.

It says these levels are higher than normal but pose no immediate threat to health.

Japan's government has raised the radiation exposure limit for police and Self-Defense Force personnel to allow them enough time to engage in an operation to cool reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant.

On Thursday, the limit was raised to 250 millisieverts, in an emergency measure applying only to the ongoing nuclear crisis. The limit for government employees in emergency situations had been 100 millisieverts.

The Self-Defense Forces and police are getting involved in an operation to inject seawater into the reactors using helicopters and other means, to stop overheated fuel rods from melting and causing radiation leaks.

The ministry says it believes the new limit represents the maximum tolerable exposure level for human health.

More than 5,600 people confirmed dead

Japanese police have so far confirmed 5,692 deaths in Friday's devastating earthquake and tsunamis that hit northeastern Japan. 9,506 people are still missing.

But the current number of missing people reflects only the number actually registered with the police. Police say the number may be in the tens of thousands.

In Miyagi Prefecture, 3,158 people have been confirmed dead and 2,157 are missing. Iwate Prefecture has confirmed 1,905 deaths, and says 3,853 people are missing.

Fukushima has 574 confirmed deaths and more than 3,491 missing. In the Kanto region, dozens of people died in the disaster, including 19 in Ibaraki and 7 in Tokyo.

More than 305,000 people have sought refuge in about 2,260 shelters.

More people evacuating to avoid radiation

An additional 28,000 people have been forced to evacuate from their homes to other areas to avoid possible radiation from a nuclear power in Fukushima Prefecture, northeastern Japan. Friday's earthquake and tsunami crippled the nuclear plant.

NHK has learned that as of Wednesday, 31municipalities in Fukushima Prefecture accepted at least 28,152 evacuees, in addition to those who had already taken shelter in those municipalities.

But many temporary shelters set up in the prefecture were already too crowded to accept the newcomers.

30,000 people to be moved out of Fukushima Pref.

A city near the quake-damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant is preparing to move about 30,000 people out of the prefecture.

A part of Minami Soma falls within the plant's 20-kilometer zone, where residents have been told to evacuate.

Another part of the city is in the 20 to 30 kilometer zone, where people are being urged to stay indoors. The city says many of the estimated 50,000 people in the zone have moved out, but about 30,000 remain.

The city is preparing to shift those people out of Fukushima Prefecture, as shelters within the prefecture are already full.

US to help its citizens leave Japan

The US State Department is chartering aircraft to evacuate family members of US diplomats who wish to leave Japan amid the quake-triggered nuclear crisis.

The Department said on Wednesday it will ready aircraft for the roughly 600 family members of US government officials stationed in Japan, including at the US Embassy in Tokyo and consulate general in Nagoya.

The State Department says US citizens other than families of diplomats can also board the flights.

The Department says the planned airlift will in no way affect work at the US Embassy and consulate generals in Japan. The same applies to operations of US forces stationed in Japan and the relief teams dispatched to quake-stricken areas. (Source: HNK World)

Scientists project path of radiation plume

A United Nations forecast of the possible movement of the radioactive plume coming from crippled Japanese reactors shows it churning across the Pacific, and touching the Aleutian Islands on Thursday before hitting Southern California late Friday.

Health and nuclear experts emphasize that radiation in the plume will be diluted as it travels and, at worst, would have extremely minor health consequences in the United States, even if hints of it are ultimately detectable. In a similar way, radiation from the Chernobyl disaster in 1986 spread around the globe and reached the West Coast of the United States in 10 days, its levels measurable but minuscule.

The projection, by the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty Organization, an arm of the United Nations in Vienna, gives no information about actual radiation levels but only shows how a radioactive plume would probably move and disperse.

The forecast, calculated Tuesday, is based on patterns of Pacific winds at that time and the predicted path is likely to change as weather patterns shift. (Source: The New York Times)

Story Date: March 18, 2011