Radiation level soars after Japan nuke plant fire

SOMA (Japan), Mar 15(Agencies): Explosions and a fire at Japan"s quake-hit nuclear plant unleashed dangerous levels of radiation on Tuesday, sparking a collapse of the stock market and sharp falls on world stock markets. The bank of Japan (BoJ) has pumped another $61.2 million into the financial system. The European Union (EU) says it is considering stress tests for nuclear plants. Dangerous levels of radiation leaking from a crippled nuclear plant forced Japan to order 140,000 people to seal themselves indoors Tuesday after an explosion and a fire dramatically escalated the crisis, spawned by a deadly tsunami. Officials have extended the danger zone, warning residents within 30km (18 miles) to evacuate or stay indoors. In a nationally televised statement, Prime Minister Naoto Kan said radiation has spread from the four stricken reactors of the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant along Japan"s northeastern coast. The region was shattered by Friday"s 9.0-magnitude earthquake, followed by the tsunami that is believed to have killed more than 10,000 people, plunged millions into misery and pummeled the world"s third-largest economy. Japanese officials told the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that the reactor fire was in a storage pond and that "radioactivity is being released directly into the atmosphere." Long after the fire was extinguished, a Japanese official said the pool, where used nuclear fuel is kept cool, might be boiling. Meanwhile, Japanese shares dived Tuesday on a wave of panic-selling after Prime Minister Naoto Kan warned that radiation leaked from a quake-hit nuclear plant had reached levels that posed a threat to health. Shares plunged more than 14 per cent before a slight rebound to close down 10.55 percent, with plant operator TEPCO limit-down at 24.67 per cent amid a deluge of sell orders, adding to Monday"s 23.57 percent loss. However, Japan on Tuesday said there was no reason to close the Tokyo stock market despite two days of heavy losses, with panicking investors dumping shares as a nuclear crisis escalated. Japan"s central bank has pumped another $61.2 million into the financial system to quell fears that the country"s banks could be overwhelmed by the impact of the massive earthquake and tsunami. The injection of 5.0 trillion yen comes a day after the BoJ fed a record 15 trillion yen into money markets and eased monetary policy to support the economy. World stock markets have fallen sharply amid fears that Japan"s earthquake may undermine supply chains for global manufacturers. The London, Paris and Milan markets each dived more than 3.0 per cent and Frankfurt shed 5.0 per cent as share prices in European power companies tumbled, and after the Japanese market had tumbled by more than 10 per cent Hong Kong fell 2.86 per cent, or 667.63 points, to close at 22,678.25 while Shanghai lost 1.41 per cent, or 41.37 points, to end at 2,896.26