SOMA, Nihon – Radiation is spewing from dilapidated reactors at a crippled nuclear power plant in tsunami-ravaged northeastern Nihon in a dramatic escalation of the 4-day-old catastrophe. The prime minister has warned residents to stay inside or risk getting irradiation sickness.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano stated Tuesday that a fourth reactor at the Fukushima Dai-ichi complex was on fire and that more irradiation was released

Prime Minister Naoto Kan warned that there are dangers of more leaks and told people living within 19 miles (30 kilometers) of the Fukushima Dai-ichi complex stay indoors.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP’s primeval story is below.

TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s nuclear country bureau stated an explosion Tuesday at an earthquake-damaged nuclear power plant might have dilapidated a reactor’s containment vessel and that a irradiation leak is feared.

The nuclear core of Unit 2 of the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant in northeast Nihon was undamaged, stated a spokesman for the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency, Shigekazu Omukai.

The bureau suspects the explosion primeval Tuesday might have dilapidated the reactor’s suppression chamber, a water-filled tube at the bottom of the container that surrounds the nuclear core, stated another bureau spokesman, Shinji Kinjo. He stated that chamber is part of the container wall, so alteration to it could grant irradiation to escape.

“A leak of nuclear material is feared,” stated another bureau spokesman, Shinji Kinjo. He stated the bureau had no details of doable alteration to the chamber.

Radiation levels measured at the front gate of the Dai-ichi plant spiked following Tuesday’s explosion, Kinjo said.

Detectors showed 11,900 microsieverts of irradiation three hours after the blast, up from just 73 microsieverts beforehand, Kinjo said. He stated there was no immediate health risk because the higher measurement was less irradiation that a mortal receives from an X-ray. He stated experts would worry about health risks if levels exceed 100,000 microsieverts.