Nine people show signs of radiation exposure, Japanese safety official says

As many as 160 people may have been exposed to radiation after an explosion at a Japanese nuclear power plant after a massive earthquake Friday, an official at the country’s nuclear safety agency told Reuters Sunday Tokyo time.

Nine people showed signs of possible radiation exposure from the plant, based on information from tests by municipal authorities and other sources, and estimates from authorities suggested the figure could reach 160, the official from Japan’s Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency told Reuters at a news conference.

Officials at Tokyo Electric Power Co. have said their No. 1 reactor at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in northeastern Japan released radiation after the powerful earthquake left it with a crippled cooling system and the operator was forced to release pressure that had accumulated inside.