Japan Nuclear Crisis Same Tier as Chernobyl

Tuesday, 12 April 2011 | by Pat's Picks

Chernobyl was a level 7 nuclear disaster. And now the situation in Japan is too reports the LA Times this morning. Based on radiation levels released after the disaster at Fukushima Daiichi, Japanese officials now characterize the nuclear crisis as a “major accident”; its previous level-5 designation was called an “accident with wider consequences.” Specifically, regulators say their decision was based on analyses of radioactive iodine and cesium released during the crisis. Despite the added threat level, regulators stressed that the amount of radiation in Japan is only about 10 percent of what was released at Chernobyl, where the reactor actually exploded.