Japan Braces for Third Blast at Nuke Plant

A second explosion at Japan’s Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant injured 11 workers Monday, and officials are already bracing for a third blast: After the explosions at Unit 1 and Unit 3, the plant has lost the ability to cool the reactor at Unit Two. They will have to inject it with seawater, possibly leading to a new explosion. The New York Times says that the plant could continue leaking radioactive steam for months as the plant fights to avert full meltdowns. One senior U.S. official says, “under the best scenarios, this isn’t going to end anytime soon.” The White House also issued a statement saying, “Hawaii, Alaska, the U.S. Territories and the U.S. West Coast are not expected to experience any harmful levels of radioactivity.”