It's official: Fukushima now a new Chernobyl as radiation rises to max

Japan has upgraded the severity rating at the paralyzed Fukushima nuclear plant to seven, a level only ever previously assigned to the Chernobyl disaster. Officials say it's been raised, because high radiation has been recorded in the air, ocean and tap water. But Japan's nuclear safety agency is still reluctant to compare the dangers to what happened at Chernobyl, saying the radiation leak is still smaller.

• 2011-04-12T18:04:48+00:00
• Duration: 02:18

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