US officials have warned citizens living within 80 kilometres of a crippled Japanese nuclear plant to evacuate or seek shelter, amid mounting concern of a catastrophic meltdown.
The evacuation order came as the chairman of the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) on Wednesday warned there was no water left in the spent fuel pool of reactor 4 at the Fukushima nuclear plant, resulting in "extremely high" radiation levels.
US officials designated a much wider no-go zone than the 20-kilometre radius perimetre set up by the Japanese after experts reviewed scientific and technical data about the nuclear crisis following Friday's massive earthquake and tsunami.
"We are recommending, as a precaution, that American citizens who live within 80 kilometres of the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant evacuate the area or to take shelter indoors if safe evacuation is not practical," the US embassy in Tokyo said in a statement.
In Washington, NRC chairman Gregory Jaczko told lawmakers that a fourth reactor unit at the nuclear complex was giving cause for concern following a hydrogen explosion there a few days ago.
"We believe that secondary containment has been destroyed and there is no water in the spent fuel pool and we believe that radiation levels are extremely high which could possibly impact the ability to take corrective measures," Jaczko said, adding that his agency had recommended the wider evacuation zone.
"Based on the available information that we have that for a comparable situation in the United States, we would recommend an evacuation for a much larger radius than has currently been provided in Japan," he said.
The White House acknowledged that the advice went beyond the recommendation Japan gave, but declined to evaluate the Japanese data.
"This crisis is happening in Japan. Obviously, the Japanese government has the lead here with regards to dealing with the crisis and advising its people," said White House spokesman Jay Carney.
"There are alot of Americans in Japan. When the data that we receive is analysed independently, we are going to give advice based on our analysis," he added.
Carney said that Washington informed Japanese officials of its wider evacuation recommendation before it was released.
US troops and pilots on rescue operations in Japan are barred from venturing into the potentially radioactive area around the stricken Fukushima plant without specific orders, Pentagon spokesman Colonel Dave Lapan said.
The US military has delivered high-pressure water pumps and fire trucks for use at Fukushima, but has not been asked to join directly in the effort to contain the damage at the atomic plant, Lapan said.
Testing earlier showed 17 US helicopter crew members from the USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier had been contaminated with low levels of radiation.
The military also gave potassium iodide anti-radiation pills to some US air crews who were scheduled to fly within the "vicinity" of the crippled Fukushima plant as a precaution, Lapan said.
Ambassador John Roos in Tokyo told reporters that 34 experts arrived in Japan carrying both ground and aerial equipment to monitor radiation levels.
"We're deploying all these capabilities because there is a crisis going on and it's important to provide as much assistance to the Japanese as possible, and in addition we have our own citizens here in Japan," Roos said.
Roos denied the measure displayed any lack of trust in Japanese capabilities.
The embassy stressed earlier that "there are numerous factors in the aftermath of the earthquake and tsunami, including weather, wind direction and speed, and the nature of the reactor problem" which would affect the risk of radioactive contamination.
Naohiro Omura, a spokesman for plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), told AFP that the company was focusing on restoring power to reactivate the plant's crippled cooling systems "as soon as possible."
The Fukushima No.1 power plant has been hit by a series of explosions since the quake and tsunami knocked out reactor cooling systems.
The evacuation order came as the chairman of the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) on Wednesday warned there was no water left in the spent fuel pool of reactor 4 at the Fukushima nuclear plant, resulting in "extremely high" radiation levels.
US officials designated a much wider no-go zone than the 20-kilometre radius perimetre set up by the Japanese after experts reviewed scientific and technical data about the nuclear crisis following Friday's massive earthquake and tsunami.
"We are recommending, as a precaution, that American citizens who live within 80 kilometres of the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant evacuate the area or to take shelter indoors if safe evacuation is not practical," the US embassy in Tokyo said in a statement.
In Washington, NRC chairman Gregory Jaczko told lawmakers that a fourth reactor unit at the nuclear complex was giving cause for concern following a hydrogen explosion there a few days ago.
"We believe that secondary containment has been destroyed and there is no water in the spent fuel pool and we believe that radiation levels are extremely high which could possibly impact the ability to take corrective measures," Jaczko said, adding that his agency had recommended the wider evacuation zone.
"Based on the available information that we have that for a comparable situation in the United States, we would recommend an evacuation for a much larger radius than has currently been provided in Japan," he said.
The White House acknowledged that the advice went beyond the recommendation Japan gave, but declined to evaluate the Japanese data.
"This crisis is happening in Japan. Obviously, the Japanese government has the lead here with regards to dealing with the crisis and advising its people," said White House spokesman Jay Carney.
"There are alot of Americans in Japan. When the data that we receive is analysed independently, we are going to give advice based on our analysis," he added.
Carney said that Washington informed Japanese officials of its wider evacuation recommendation before it was released.
US troops and pilots on rescue operations in Japan are barred from venturing into the potentially radioactive area around the stricken Fukushima plant without specific orders, Pentagon spokesman Colonel Dave Lapan said.
The US military has delivered high-pressure water pumps and fire trucks for use at Fukushima, but has not been asked to join directly in the effort to contain the damage at the atomic plant, Lapan said.
Testing earlier showed 17 US helicopter crew members from the USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier had been contaminated with low levels of radiation.
The military also gave potassium iodide anti-radiation pills to some US air crews who were scheduled to fly within the "vicinity" of the crippled Fukushima plant as a precaution, Lapan said.
Ambassador John Roos in Tokyo told reporters that 34 experts arrived in Japan carrying both ground and aerial equipment to monitor radiation levels.
"We're deploying all these capabilities because there is a crisis going on and it's important to provide as much assistance to the Japanese as possible, and in addition we have our own citizens here in Japan," Roos said.
Roos denied the measure displayed any lack of trust in Japanese capabilities.
The embassy stressed earlier that "there are numerous factors in the aftermath of the earthquake and tsunami, including weather, wind direction and speed, and the nature of the reactor problem" which would affect the risk of radioactive contamination.
Naohiro Omura, a spokesman for plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), told AFP that the company was focusing on restoring power to reactivate the plant's crippled cooling systems "as soon as possible."
The Fukushima No.1 power plant has been hit by a series of explosions since the quake and tsunami knocked out reactor cooling systems.
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