福岛核电站发生第三次爆炸Japanese nuclear crisis escalates

A third explosion has been reported by the Japanese nuclear safety agency at Unit Two of the Fukushima Daiichi power station, damaged in Friday’s erathquake.

日本核安全机构报告说，福岛核电站第二号核反应堆发生了爆炸。这是该核电站发生的第三次爆炸。

Japan issued a call for international reinforcement in its battle to prevent a potential nuclear disaster amid signs that a third reactor had gone into partial meltdown at the Fukushima power plant crippled by last week’s earthquake.

日本已向国际社会请求增援，以帮助该国阻止一场潜在的核灾难。目前有迹象显示，在上周地震中受损的福岛核电站有第三个反应堆发生部分熔毁。

Engineers struggled to control reactors at Tokyo Electric Power’s Daiichi plant in Fukushima, north east of the capital, the cooling systems were damaged by the 8.9 magnitude quake and subsequent tsunami.

工程技术人员竭尽全力控制东京电力株式会社(Tokyo Electric Power)的福岛第一(Fukushima Daiichi)核电站。该电站的冷却系统在8.9级地震和随后的海啸中受损。

Early on Tuesday morning in Japan, Tepco said coolant water inside the reactor fell dangerously low for a second time in 24 hours on Monday night, leaving its fuel rods completely exposed and at risk of partial meltdown.

日本时间周二一大早，东京电力表示，周一夜间，上述反应堆内部的冷却水水位在24小时内第二次降至危险的低水平，使该反应堆的燃料棒完全暴露，可能发生部分熔毁。

The International Atomic Energy Agency said Japan had requested “expert missions” to help tackle the escalating nuclear crisis. In Washington, the White House said two officials from the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission were already in Tokyo giving assistance.

国际原子能机构(IAEA)表示，日本已请求得到“专家团”以帮助对付不断升级的核危机。在华盛顿，白宫表示，美国核管理委员会(NRC)的两名官员已经在东京提供协助。

Yukiya Amano, a veteran Japanese diplomat who heads the IAEA, said the agency was discussing details with Tokyo. He said: “The nuclear plants have been shaken, flooded and cut off from electricity. Operators have suffered personal tragedies.”

国际原子能机构总干事、日本资深外交官天野之弥(Yukiya Amano)表示，该机构正与东京方面讨论细节。他表示：“相关核电站已受到地震、水淹，还被切断电源。操作人员遭受了个人悲剧。”

France’s ASN nuclear safety authority said the accident in Japan could be classed as level five or six on the international scale of one to seven, on a par with the 1979 US Three Mile Island meltdown. The estimate of the severity of the accident, based on the ASN’s assessment of data provided by Japan, is above the rating of four given by Japan’s nuclear safety agency.

法国核安全局(ASN)表示，按照国际核泄漏事故1至7级的评级标准，此次日本核事故可被评估为5级或6级，与1979年的美国三里岛熔毁事故相当。法国核安全局在对日方提供的数据进行评估后认为，此次事故的严重性高于日本核安全机构所评定的4级。

But Mr Amano added his voice to those nuclear experts playing down the risk of a catastrophic event. “The reactor vessels have held and radioactive release is limited,” he said.

但天野之弥赞同那些淡化灾难性事件风险的核专家。“反应堆防护罩完好无损，放射性物质的泄漏有限，”他表示。

In a sign of the growing concern about leaked radiation, the US navy on Monday began moving ships aiding the relief effort out of areas downwind of the power plant.

各方对辐射泄漏的担忧不断加剧的迹象之一是，美国海军周一开始将参与救援行动的舰船撤离福岛核电站的下风位置。

France advised its nationals to leave Tokyo amid growing alarm about problems at the nuclear power plant and a warning from meteorological agency about a possible large aftershock in the Kanto region.

法国已建议本国国民离开东京。目前外界对福岛核电站的问题越来越感到震惊，而气象厅警告称，关东地区(Kanto region)可能发生一次较强的余震。

译者/和风