Baku, May 2 (AZERTAC). As the twenty-fifth anniversary of Chernobyl passes, Fukushima looks set to overtake it as the world`s worst nuclear disaster. Two weeks ago Fukushima was raised from a level 5 disaster to a level 7 like Chernobyl. But nearly two months after the crisis began, Fukushima is still emitting radioactivity, while Chernobyl`s emissions had been contained at this stage.

Robots sent into the Number 1 reactor building have recorded the highest reading of radioactivity so far found at the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant since the emergency began almost two months ago. Two robots found 1,120 millisieverts of radiation an hour was being emitted from the stricken reactor. This level of radiation is more than enough to cause immediate radiation sickness if a human being were exposed to it. The Tokyo Electrical Power Company (Tepco) which runs the Fukushima facility has begun to use robots because it has become impossible to send workers into the plant for long enough to take accurate readings.

The company has just admitted that a woman worker at the plant was exposed to 17.55 millisieverts last month and taken off the job. Her exposure exceeds the 5 millisieverts 3-month dose limit for females. Women have a lower dose level than men because of the potential danger to a foetus if a woman were to become pregnant. The woman worked indoors and her exposure to radiation was limited to clothing and other material brought in from outside her workplace. The fact that she has exceeded the permitted dose gives an indication of the now generalized level of contamination at Fukushima and suggests that no areas of the plant can be classified as safe for prolonged periods. Tepco has laid off 18 other female workers. It has not said what their exposure level is.

The Japanese nuclear industry as a whole is now facing a general crisis as the potential workforce is reduced because of the high exposure levels of the Fukushima workers. The Health Ministry is expected to uprate the legal limit for nuclear workers next month. The current level for non-emergency workers is 50 millisieverts per year. This is expected to be raised allowing workers not directly engaged in emergency work to be exposed to greater levels of radiation.