JAPAN NUCLEAR CRISIS: OFFICIALS RAISE SEVERITY LEVEL TO EQUAL CHERNOBYL

Japan's Nuclear and engineering Safety Agency Tuesday raised the level of severity at theFukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant from 5 to level 7 – the highest level on the international scale and equal to the Chernobyl disaster.

The agency says the level 7 ranking was made after the damaged reactors have been releasing large amounts of radioactive posing a menace to humans and the environment in a much wider area. "Echelon 5 is Three Mile Desert Island. Level 7 is Chernobyl. This doesn't mean it's as bad as Chernobyl. But that's the last time I think 7 was used. It's the highest set by the IAEA (intercontinental Atomic Energy Agency)," said physicist Michio Kaku.

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