China is actively preparing for a possible radioactive threat following a massive quake and tsunami in Japan and explosions at the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said on Tuesday.
Blasts at the Fukushima 1 NPP in northeastern Japan have escalated concerns about a possible nuclear disaster in the country devastated by a powerful 9.0-magnitude earthquake and subsequent tsunami.
Jiang said that special bodies responsible for the environment in China "demanded to tighten monitoring of the radioactive situation so to effectively hold essential preparations to counter [the possible worsening of the situation]."
Air China has also canceled its flights to Japan until March 19 following the disasters.
The cooling systems of the Fukushima plant failed following the earthquake, resulting in blasts in units One and Three on Monday. Unit Two also overheated on Monday, but the injection of water into the reactor restarted a few hours later.
Early on Tuesday, the 4th reactor was hit by a blast, which resulted in leak of radioactive isotopes. Radioactive iodine and cesium were detected in Tokyo.
Kyodo news agency also said on Tuesday, citing a top state official, that temperatures have been rising slightly in units Five and Six of the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant.
"Temperatures have been rising slightly. This requires attention," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano told reporters.
Kyodo said malfunctions have occurred in the cooling systems of the two units.
The Japanese Transport Ministry declared a no-fly zone within the range of 30 km from the blast-hit plant earlier in the day.
BEIJING, March 15 (RIA Novosti)
