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US urges citizens to stay 80 km away from facility

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2011-03-17 09:04

WASHINGTON - The United States is advising its citizens to stay 80 kilometers (50 miles) away from the Japanese nuclear plant that is seriously hit by the strong earthquake, the White House said on Wednesday.

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White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters that chairman of US Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Greg Jaczko, came to the White House to brief President Barack Obama on the "deteriorating situation" at the nuclear power plant in Japan, with the attendance of senior officials, including National Security Advisor Tom Donilon, Homeland Security Advisor John Brennan.

Carney said, during the briefing, Jaczko informed Obama that it was his recommendation that American citizens in Japan who are within a 50-mile (80-kilometer) radius of the reactors evacuate from that area.

US Defense Department earlier said that US military personnel who are helping the relief efforts in Japan are prohibited from entering areas within 50 miles of Fukushima nuclear power plant damaged by the quake and tsunami.