[JBaymore]

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msnbc.com news services

TOKYO — The Japanese government's nuclear safety agency raised the crisis level of the Fukushima Dai-ichi power plant accident from 5 to 7, the worst on the international scale and on par with the Chernobyl accident 25 years ago.

The emission of radioactive substances from the stricken plant is about 10 percent of the amount that had been detected at Chernobyl, the agency said on Tuesday.

Kyodo news agency said the government agency estimated the amount of radioactive material released from the reactors in Fukushima, northern Japan, reached a maximum of 10,000 terabequerels per hour at one point for several hours, which would classify the incident as a major accident according to the International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale (INES).

The rating reflects the initial severity of the crisis not the current situation which has seen radiation levels drop dramatically.
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