Epiwhat?

Get 10% off plus FREE Shipping on Gourmet Meats (Hearst Ranch)

2011-05-01T20:43:00.000-07:00

What gets better than this??? 10% off premium grass fed steaks!!! Free shipping too!!!

Grass fed beef are good for you too!!! read here for some additional information.

If you are planning to throw an awesome BBQ this summer and is looking for some quality meat, you can test it out and see how you like it, so when the time finally rolls around, you would know where to get your meats.

Hearst Ranch is a part of Hearst Castle. If you've gone on their tour, then you would know Hearst Ranch has to offer. I attached some pictures for you to enjoy, if you haven't been to Hearst Castle, you should probably take a weekend and take your family or plan a romantic date with your wife/significant other and check it out. I attached a few photos above for you to enjoy.

Thirsty Thursday: Thai Spring Mojito recipe

2011-04-07T07:00:00.000-07:00

Thai Spring Mojito

Time to sip on some of that crisp mojito!

Thai Spring Mojito ingredients:

1 ounce of white rum (or vodka, if you prefer)

1 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon water

1 pinch fresh ginger, peeled and grated

3 medium Thai basil leaves

3 mint leaves

juice of half a lime

club soda

Directions:

In the bottom of a Collins or mixing glass, muddle the sugar, water, herbs and lime juice. Pour in rum and stir. Top with crushed ice and club soda. Garnish with a lime wheel.

Enjoy!

Recipes Friday: Popeye's Cajun Rice

2011-04-01T07:19:00.000-07:00

Popeye's Cajun Rice

Felling like some Cajun Rice? Like the Cajun Rice from Popeyes'?

Popeye’s Cajun Rice

(Yield: 8 – 10 servings)

Ingredient:
1 LB Lean Ground Beef
1/2 C. Finely Dice Bell Pepper
1/3 C. Diced Green Onions
1/2 tsp. Garlic Powder
1/2 tsp. Celery Flakes
1 tsp. Creole Seasoning
1/4 tsp. Red Pepper
4 C. Long Grain Rice Cooked and Drained
1/4 – 1/3 C. Water
1/4 tsp. Black Pepper

In fry pan stir in ground beef, bell pepper and cook on med. high heat until beef looses its pink color and bell pepper is soft. Remove excess grease. Turn temperature down to medium or medium low . Add remaining ingredients, stir and cook together until ground beef is completely cooked and liquid is gone about 25 – 35 min. More Creole seasoning and red pepper may be added for that Cajun at Heart. I like to use Tony Chacheres’s.

Thirsty Thursday: Irish Spring Cocktail

2011-03-31T07:07:00.000-07:00

Irish Spring Cocktail

Read more for the refreshing Irish Spring Cocktail, the perfect refreshment for spring!

Irish Spring Cocktail ingredients:

1 oz celery juice from 1-2 ribs of celery

1 1/2 oz gin

1/2 oz simple syrup

1/2 oz fresh lime juice

5-6 mint leaves

Grate the celery ribs into a bowl. Then put the celery in a sieve over the bowl and mash until you get all the juice out of the celery. Juice 2-3 limes for fresh lime juice. Muddle the mint, simple syrup, and lime juice in a cocktail shaker. Add in the celery juice, gin, and ice. Shake thoroughly for about a minute. Strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with mint.

Recipe Friday: Gumbo!!!

2011-03-25T00:01:00.000-07:00

Gumbo!!!

Gumbo Recipe for you and your whole family to enjoy!

Ingredients

1/2 cup oil
1 medium whole chicken, cut up (wing, leg, breast etc.)
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 medium Vidalia or yellow onion, coarsely chopped
2 stalks celery, coarsely chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
8 bay leaves
1 bell pepper, coarsely chopped
1 pound sliced andouille sausage or sliced pepperoni
2 cans chicken broth
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup green onion, chopped
1/4 cup finely chopped parsley, finely chopped

Directions

In a 6-quart pot, heat oil and fry chicken until it is golden brown. Remove chicken, cut up into pieces when cooled down and set aside. To make the roux, leave oil in pot and add flour making a thick paste. Stir constantly until golden brown. Watch closely and stir constantly because roux's are easily burned.

Add vegetables to roux and let them sweat until soft. Add andouille, chicken pieces along with the broth. Salt and pepper, to taste, and allow to simmer on low heat for 1 1/2 hours. Stir occasionally to keep roux from sticking to the bottom of pot and burning.

Remove from heat and add green onions and parsley. Serve over rice.

*You can substitute the meat for something else chicken for quail, rabbit, more vegetables, duck or seafood!

Thirsty Thursday: Florida Piña Colada

2011-03-24T08:39:00.000-07:00

For one serving of Florida Piña Colada...

3 oz pineapple juice
2 scoops vanilla ice cream
3/4 oz coconut rum
3/4 oz dark rum
2 splashes orange juice
3/4 oz cream
2 ice cubes (or how ever many you like)

Place all ingredients in a blender. Blend for 1 minute or until smooth. Drink immediately ;)

Enjoy!

Curry House 20% off Coupon

2011-03-23T13:07:00.000-07:00

If you live near a Curry House then you are in luck.

Curry House is currently offering 20% off all entrées at their restaurants!!! In order to get your 20% off you need to print out the coupon here, the coupon is good for the entire party, so all you need is one for your whole group. ~~So go find a Curry House near you, if you don't know where there's one click here to locate a Curry House!~~ [Expires 3/29/11] The Coupon is only good at Little Tokyo in Downtown L.A.

T.G.I. Friday's restaurants is having buy one get one free!

2011-03-22T11:22:00.000-07:00

At TGI Fridays, buy one entree and get the second free when you also purchase two beverages and use this printable coupon [Expires 3/31/11]. Tax and gratuity not included. Here's their store finder.

Smokey Bones coupon: Buy 1 entree, get 2nd entree for free!

2011-03-22T11:02:00.000-07:00

At participating Smokey Bones restaurants, buy one entreé and get a second entreé of equal or lesser value for free via this printable coupon. This coupon is valid for dine-in only. To find your nearest location, click here. Coupon expires March 24.

Jamba Juice Coupon: two 16-oz Smoothies for $5

2011-03-21T16:21:00.000-07:00

Participating Jamba Juice locations offer two 16-oz. Smoothies for $5. This offer is not valid at airport and university locations. Coupon ends March 30.

Los Angeles Beer Festival coming soon! April 9th (2nd Reminder)

2011-03-21T11:37:00.000-07:00

If you like beer and you like food you should not miss the LA Beer Festival going down on April 9th!

Click here for event details described in our previous post.

Free stack of Pancakes at Perkins!!!

2011-03-20T21:17:00.000-07:00

If you live near Perkins Restaurant & Bakery you are in luck, because on March 21, participating Perkins Restaurants will give you a free short stack of pancakes. (Sales tax, if applicable.) In exchange, you're encouraged to donate to Give Kids The World. Click here to find a Perkins Restaurant near you.

Food and Water contaminated in Japan

2011-03-20T05:31:00.000-07:00

Workers began to see some success in their battle to cool down reactors at the quake-damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant Sunday, but Japanese officials said they may need to release additional radioactive gas into the air.

The plant's owner, Tokyo Electric Power Co., said electricity was being supplied to a switchboard in reactor No. 2.

But officials said they were monitoring reactor No. 3 to determine whether to release gas to reduce mounting pressure in the containment vessel -- the steel and concrete shell that insulates radioactive material inside.

Power company officials said pressure was higher than previous readings -- but stable -- Sunday afternoon. And Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said the pressure increase did not require "an immediate release of the air at this moment."

Still, "even in the best scenario, there will be a lot of bumps ahead," Edano told reporters as he assessed the situation at the plant in a briefing Sunday.

There are six reactors at the nuclear plant, where workers have been struggling to stave off a full meltdown since a 9.0-magnitude earthquake and ensuing tsunami knocked out cooling systems.

Workers have injected steam to release pressure in previous operations.

The dual disasters, which struck March 11, devastated much of northeastern Japan. On Sunday, the country's national police said 8,277 people were confirmed dead and more than 12,722 remained missing as search efforts continued. In Miyagi prefecture -- one of the hardest hit areas -- police said the death toll could climb to 15,000 there alone.

Amidst the gloom came one ray of hope Sunday when medical officials in the Miyagi city of Ishinomaki said they had rescued an 81-year- old grandmother and her 16-year-old grandson, who had been trapped inside their house for nine days.

In Fukushima, authorities have evacuated about 200,000 people from a 20-kilometer (12-mile) area surrounding the plant, but the crisis there has sparked concern across the country.

Very small amounts -- far below the level of concern -- of radioactive iodine have been detected in tap water in Tokyo and most prefectures near the Fukushima plant.

And on Sunday, Edano said authorities were still analyzing data after finding abnormally high levels of radiation in milk and spinach.

The government hopes to decide Monday whether to ban consumption and shipment of food from farms near the plant, he said.

At the plant itself, workers from the power company and firefighters helping douse reactors with water are taking on the risk of far greater radiation exposure.The contaminated milk detected in Fukushima prefecture had not been distributed or sold, he said.

On Saturday, officials said tainted milk was found 30 kilometers (18 miles) from the plant, and spinach was collected as far as 100 kilometers (65 miles) to the south, almost halfway to Tokyo.

A person who consumed the tainted food continuously for a year would take in the same amount of radiation as a single CT scan, Edano said Saturday. That's about 7 millisieverts, or double what an average person in an industrialized country is exposed to in a year, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

"Even if you consume the spinach in question for a long time, it will not pose an immediate threat to your health," Edano said Sunday.

Firefighter Yasuo Sato told reporters his family was well aware of the risk -- and proud that he was taking it.

When he sent a text message to his wife telling her he was heading to the troubled nuclear plant, he said her reply was simple: "Please become a savior for Japan."

Six members of an emergency crew working to restore electricity at the plant have been exposed to more than 100 millisieverts of radiation per hour.

Officials say regaining electrical power could bring cooling systems back online -- a key step in curbing the further emission of radioactive material and preventing a full nuclear meltdown. A meltdown occurs when nuclear fuel rods get so hot that they melt the steel and concrete structure containing them, spilling out into the air and water with potentially deadly results.

The earthquake and tsunami Friday knocked out regular and backup cooling systems at the plant.

It was unclear whether the cooling system in reactor No. 2 was working after power was restored Sunday.

The plan is to get power up and running for the Numbers 1, 3 and 4 reactors soon. Cooling systems at the Numbers 5 and 6 reactors -- the least-troublesome of the group -- have already been restored, Kyodo News said.

Japan's nuclear agency said workers were spending about five hours installing electrical cables Sunday before water spraying operations resumed. Radiation levels at the plant declined during that operation, Japanese public broadcaster NHK reported.

On Saturday, authorities set up a new system to spray seawater continuously on the troubled reactors for extended periods of time. Previously, firefighters, soldiers and electric company workers had manually done the same in brief intervals to avoid prolonged radiation exposure.

Water was directed at the No. 3 reactor's spent fuel pool on Saturday in order to cool it and prevent the emission of more radioactive material into the atmosphere. Authorities have also started spraying the No. 4 reactor and continued efforts there Sunday.

Source: CNN

Nuclear Power Plants in the United States

2011-03-18T09:17:00.000-07:00

If you would like to see a map of a all the Nuclear Power Plant in the US or find out more about where Nuclear Power Plant are located in the US please see the following sites for more information.

Find a nuclear plant near you:
http://webthing.greenpeaceusa.org/nuclear_locator/ (enter Zip Code)

http://www.ucsusa.org/nuclear_power/reactor-map/embedded-flash-map.html

Coupon for Quiznos! (Prime Rib sub)

2011-03-18T08:35:00.000-07:00

If you like Quiznos but feel like it's too expensive regularly and you switched to subway for the "5 dollar foot long", then you are in luck. Quiznos has special coupon that's just for you!
At Quiznos, get any of the 8 Small Prime Rib Sub for $2.99 via this printable coupon. Some exclusions apply. Coupon (expires March 26).

Free Waffle at Waffle House!!!

2011-03-18T08:26:00.000-07:00

Do you live near a Waffle House? if you do you are in luck, because you can get a free waffle! Waffle House has a printable coupon [Exp 4/15] good for one free waffle of any variety. Not valid with other coupons or promotions. Use this store locator to find one near you.

Eat for free at IKEA!! please read the details!

2011-03-18T01:57:00.000-07:00

Eat for FREE! March 18-20

Friday, March 18 - Sunday, March 20, 2011, dine in the restaurant at your local IKEA store and deduct your restaurant receipt total from any home furnishings purchase over $100!

Offer valid Friday, March 18 - Sunday, March 20, 2011. Home furnishings purchase amount must be $100 before tax. Restaurant food purchase must be consumed on the premises. Limit one restaurant receipt per store discount. Home furnishing purchase must be made the same day as the restaurant purchase. Offer not valid for Bistro or Swedish food Market purchase. Not valid on IKEA Gift Card purchase. Offer not valid at IKEA Home Shopping. See your local store for details.

Click here to locate a store near you!

Recipes Friday: A&W Chili Dogs

2011-03-18T00:01:00.000-07:00

A&W Chili Dogs

Do you feel like having a Chili Dog?!?! if you are, you are in luck :)

A&W Chili Dogs

1 Sabrett brand 2 ounce beef frankfurter (7½" long)
1 regular hot dog roll
3 Tablespoons A&W Coney Island Sauce (see recipe below)
1 Tablespoon chopped white onion
1/2 Tablespoon Kraft shredded mild cheddar cheese (optional)
A&W Coney Island Chili Dog Sauce

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin (heaping)
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 pound ground chuck
1 six ounce can Hunts tomato paste
1 Cup water
1 Tablespoon sugar
1 Tablespoon prepared yellow mustard
1 Tablespoon dried, minced onion
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon celery seed

Making the Chili Dog Sauce:

1. In a 2 qt. saucepan, brown the ground chuck, breaking into very small
pieces. Salt and pepper lightly while cooking. Do not drain the fat.
2. Add the remaining ingredients. Simmer, uncovered, 30−45 minutes until it
thickens. Stir occasionally.

Cooking your A&W Chili Dog

1. Bring a 2 qt. saucepan of water to a rolling boil.
2. Remove the saucepan from the heat, and add the desired number of
frankfurters to the water. Cover and let sit about 10 minutes.
3. Get the dogs ready and throw it on the grill or stove and sizzle it a bit, or you could simply just prepare the bun and eat it as is.
4. Then microwave each hot dog roll/bun 15 seconds on high, (personally I take a wet kitchen paper towel, wet it and wring/squeeze the water out and wrap it around the bun then I microwave it so the buns are semi steamed) to bring the buns to a warm and soft feel, which makes all the difference! or if you prefer you could throw it on the grill too!

If you haven't heard the company that owns A&W, Yum, is trying to sell off A&W and Long John Silver after acquiring back in 2002. For more on the story click here.

Thirsty Thursday: 7 on 7

2011-03-17T08:50:00.000-07:00

7 on 7

For one serving of 7 on 7 use...

3 oz Seagram's® 7 whisky (oe other wiskey if you prefer, but this drink is called 7 on 7 for a reason haha)
3 oz 7-Up soda

Fill a highball glass with ice cubes. Add the Seagrams 7 and the other half with 7-Up or Sprite or any lemon lime soda, and serve. Can also be made with Seagrams VO.

Enjoy!

T.G.I. Friday's restaurants are offering 25% off your meal! (Expires 3/21/11 2nd reminder)

2011-03-16T19:51:00.001-07:00

At participating T.G.I. Friday's restaurants, get 25% off your entire food purchase via this printable coupon. That beats their January offer of a 20% coupon and is the best general-use coupon we've ever seen from T.G.I. Friday's. This discount is valid on dine-in orders only.

Exclusions apply (excludes alcohol, etc...), and are listed on the coupon. Coupon ends March 21. Click here to find a location near you.

Go eat for 25% less what you normally pay for, grab some friends and go chow down.

Enjoy!

Buca di Beppo is offering a free order of Baked Ziti with purchase of pasta/entree!!!

2011-03-16T19:44:00.000-07:00

Buca di Beppo is offering a free order of Baked Ziti with purchase of a pasta or entree with this printable coupon [Expires 3/31/11]. Here's their store locator. Go and grab you family and friends and enjoy some Italian food!

Free calls and texts to Japan for AT&T, Sprint, and Verizon.

2011-03-16T11:14:00.000-07:00

AT&T has announced that it has implemented international calling and texting support efforts for US residential wireless and wireline consumers trying to connect with loved ones in Japan, following last week's tragic earthquake and tsunami. AT&T customers will either see no charges reflected on their monthly statement, or they will see a full credit applied to their statement for activity between March 11 and March 31.

AT&T wireless postpaid customers will not be charged for international long distance usage from the United States and Puerto Rico to Japan nor for text messages to Japan, originated from a US wireless number. In addition, residential wireline customers can seek credits for up to 60 minutes of direct dial calling to Japan.

Sprint followed suit. The company told PhoneScoop via e-mail that it, too, would waive the fees of its customers looking to call or text message phone lines in Japan effective March 11 to April 10.

Verizon also decided to make calls to Japan free for most wireless and residential customers from March 11 to April 10. In addition, Verizon Wireless post-paid customers in the US will receive free text and multimedia messaging to Japan for the same time period.

Customers with Verizon World Plan (300, 500 or unlimited minutes of long-distance calling) can call Japan without using any minutes from their time-allotment blocks. Additionally, Verizon Prepaid Phone Card charges for all long-distance calls placed to Japan from the United States will also be waived from March 11 until April 10. The company is also providing FiOS TV customers who are not subscribed to the channel free access to TV Japan (1770) through March 17.

Source: Techspot

Radioactive elements from Nuclear Plants: Elements' facts

2011-03-16T04:40:00.000-07:00

Some people are misinformed about how long radioactive isotopes lasts from the nuclear fi ssion, and mistakenly think that it might last seconds in the air; this may be true for certain isotopes such as Nitrogen-16, however this is not the scary isotope that causes a majority of the radiation problems.

Nitrogen-16, the radioactive isotope in coolant vapor, has a short half-life of five to seven seconds and rapidly reacts and decays to non-radioactive oxygen when mixed with water vapor and atmospheric gases. However the isotopes that causes a majority of the problems are Iodine-131 and Cesium-137. I hope that the following will help clear up some confusion and people better understand the radiation thats all over the news in Japan and the United States.

Explanation:

Iodine 131 has a half-life of about 8 days of which will emit beta particles upon radioactive decay (Please remember its half-life, It is the time required for the disintegration of one-half of the radioactive atoms that are present when measurement starts.)

Despite the 8 day half life, in the body, iodine has a biological half-life of about 100 days for the body as a whole. It has different biological half-lives for various organs: thyroid - 100 days, bone - 14 days, and kidney, spleen, and reproductive organs - 7 days.

The half-life of cesium-137 is 30.17 years. Because of the chemical nature of cesium, it moves easily through the environment. This makes the cleanup of cesium-137 difficult.

And remember we are talking about half life!!!!

Illustrating the decay of Cesium 137

Radioactive iodine can enter the body by ingestion or inhalation. It dissolves in water so it moves easily from the atmosphere into humans and other living organisms. For example, iodine-131 can settle on grass where cows can eat it and pass it to humans through their milk. It may settle on leafy vegetables and be ingested by humans. Iodine isotopes also concentrate in marine and freshwater fish, which people may then eat.

People may also be exposed from contaminated sites to cesium-137:

-Walking on cesium-137 contaminated soil could result in external exposure to gamma radiation. Leaving the contaminated area would prevent additional exposure.

-Coming in contact with waste materials at contaminated sites could also result in external exposure to gamma radiation. Leaving the area would also end the exposure.

-If cesium-137 contaminated soil becomes air-borne as dust, breathing the dust would result in internal exposure. Because the radiation emitting material is then in the body, leaving the site would not end the exposure.

-Drinking cesium-137 contaminated water, would also place the cesium-137 inside the body, where it would expose living tissue to gamma and beta radiation.

I hope you this blog post help you understand the elements a little better.

California radiation risks?

2011-03-16T02:56:00.000-07:00

Within days, nuclear radiation released from Japan's damaged Fukushima reactors could reach California, but experts say the amount that makes its way across the ocean should pose no danger...

"What we're being told is that there is no threat to California at this time," said Mike Sicilia, a spokesman for the California Department of Public Health. "It's a matter of distance. Dangerous radioactivity could not cross the 5,000 miles of the Pacific without petering out."

The reassurances came as California and federal health officials opened hotlines to field questions about possible radiation risks. Environmental Protection Agency officials, who monitor radiation levels in air, milk and precipitation, said Tuesday that they plan to send additional staff to the Western U.S.

Potassium iodide pills — used to prevent the body from absorbing radioactive iodine — have sold out at numerous stores despite warnings from health officials that the pills were unnecessary and could even have harmful side effects.

David McIntyre, a spokesman for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in Washington, said his office was working Tuesday with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration "to project the jet stream and the path that any radiation might take."

The Department of Energy activated its atmospheric radioactivity monitoring center at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in the Bay Area to create sophisticated computer models of how radioactive releases at Fukushima will spread into the atmosphere, according to a high-ranking energy department official. But he cautioned that "we've got to get good data to put into it for it to be a reliable predictor and basis for people entrusted with public safety to make decisions."

Even without detailed data, some experts said the radiation in Japan posed little danger to the U.S.

Tony VanCuren, an atmospheric scientist with the California Air Resources Board in Sacramento, said it would take a "catastrophic release" of radiation to carry dangerous levels across the ocean, and even then it would take five to 15 days for particles to reach California.

Bill Patzert, a climatologist at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in La Cañada Flintridge, contrasted the problems at Fukushima with the Chernobyl disaster in 1986 in the Ukraine, where a massive blast drove radioactive debris into the air and around the globe.

"If we had multiple Chernobyl-type failures and it did go five to eight miles into the atmosphere and get into the jet stream, it could definitely impact the West Coast of the United States and Canada," Patzert said. "But we're not there yet."

After the explosions and fire, the Fukushima nuclear complex released radiation of up to 400 millisieverts per hour, Japanese officials have said. That would be about 20 times the annual exposure for some nuclear industry workers.

Dr. James Thrall, radiologist-in-chief at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston and president of the American College of Radiology, said anything more than about 50 millisieverts may be cause for alarm, including the use of potassium iodide pills to mitigate exposure. Studies conducted after the atomic bombing of Japan during World War II showed those exposed to 50 millisieverts or more of radiation were at increased risk for leukemia and cancer, Thrall said.

California Department of Public Health officials have advised anyone with radiation-related questions to call (916) 341-3947. As of Tuesday, the state hotline had received at least 200 calls, mostly from people afraid of radiation exposure, many trying to buy potassium iodide pills.

"That's very concerning to us because you really should not take that without professional advice," Sicilia said, or, "unless you are within the zone of the nuclear event," the 12-mile radius surrounding Fukushima that already has been evacuated.

Lee Cantrell, director of the San Diego division of the California poison control system, said he had been "bombarded with calls since Sunday" from people wanting to know if they should be taking potassium iodide. In Los Angeles County, Dr. Jonathan E. Fielding, the county's public health chief, said he has heard stocks in many pharmacies are "very low or running out."

Fielding, in a news conference Tuesday, said his office has checked local government stockpiles of potassium iodide. If risk of radiation exposure became an issue, Fielding said, "there would be plenty of warning and opportunity to obtain the medication."

Despite efforts to allay concerns, California customers flocked to Troy Jones' online store for "nukepills." Jones, who took five new orders while talking to a reporter, said he went from selling $1,000 worth of potassium iodide a week to six figures in sales during the last two days.

The Vitamin Station in Simi Valley was among those sold out.

"They did it during Chernobyl. They're doing it again," said Lonnie August, who opened the shop 29 years ago. "Everybody's out of it everywhere. People worry and panic about things."

Source: LA Times

Japan news update: Damaged container may be causing smoke, radiation spike

2011-03-15T23:26:00.000-07:00

March-16 (2:00a.m. EDT)

Tokyo (CNN) -- Officials asked workers at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant to evacuate temporarily Wednesday after a white cloud of smoke rose above the plant and radiation levels spiked.

Workers were "asked to withdraw to a safe area," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said. Authorities later allowed them to return after radiation levels dropped, the Tokyo Electric Power Company said.

Radiation levels at the plant have surged and dropped repeatedly over the past few days. The most recent spike "probably" occurred "because the containment vessel in reactor No. 3 has been damaged," a spokesman for Japan's nuclear safety agency later told reporters.

Edano said the smoke or vapor above the plant may have been caused by breach in the containment structure around the No. 3 reactor's containment vessel -- the steel and concrete shell that insulates radioactive material inside.

It was the second visible sign of trouble at the earthquake-damaged nuclear plant Wednesday.

Earlier in the day, firefighters battled a blaze in the plant's No. 4 reactor building.

Since the 9.0-magnitude earthquake and the resulting tsunami Friday, the plant has suffered a series of setbacks that have heightened fears about the possibility of widespread radiation contamination.

A hydrogen explosion took place at the plant's No. 2 reactor Tuesday. Hydrogen explosions had previously occurred in the plant's No. 1 and No. 3 reactors.

Another fire had broken out Tuesday in the No. 4 reactor. While it burned, radiation levels at the plant increased to about 167 times the average dose, the International Atomic Energy Agency said.

That dose quickly diminished with distance from the plant, and radiation fell back to levels where it posed no immediate public health threat, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said.

But the deteriorating situation and concerns about a potential shift in wind direction that could send radiation toward populated areas prompted authorities to warn people as far as 18.6 miles (30 kilometers) from the plant to stay inside.

"There is still a very high risk of further radioactive material coming out," Prime Minister Naoto Kan said Tuesday, asking people to remain calm.

In all, the plant holds six reactors. At the time of Friday quake, Unit 4 was shut for maintenance and all fuel from the reactor had been moved to its spent fuel pool. Units 5 and 6 were also shut at the time of the quake, but both its reactors are loaded with fuel, the IAEA said.

About 200,000 people living within a 12.4-mile (20 kilometer) radius of the plant already had been evacuated.

Authorities also banned flights over the area.

Between Units 3 and 4, Japanese authorities said they had measured radiation dose rates of up to 400 millisieverts-per-hour, IAEA reported. That's equivalent to about 2,000 chest x-rays per hour, the agency said on its website. "This is a high dose-level value, but it is a local value at a single location and at a certain point in time," it added.

As a result of the monitoring of about 150 people from around the Daiichi site, 23 have been decontaminated, IAEA said.

Radioactive material leaks from plant

Will Japan nuclear crisis linger?

Map: Fukushima Daiichi

The number of nuclear workers who remained on site has been slashed from 800 to 50.

"Their situation is not great," said David Brenner, director of the Center for Radiological Research at Columbia University. "It's pretty clear that they will be getting very high doses of radiation. There's certainly the potential for lethal doses of radiation. They know it, and I think you have to call these people heroes."

Although the plant's three functioning reactors shut down automatically when the quake occurred, the tsunami that followed swamped the diesel generators that provided backup power to the reactor cooling systems.

Crews restored backup power, but problems keeping the reactors cool forced plant officials to take the drastic step of flooding them with seawater. Still, pressure buildups, problems with valves and a failure to fill a generator's gas tank led to hydrogen explosions and other problems.

Tuesday's events appeared to escalate the situation: Edano said the radiation releases from the explosion and fire were the first that appeared to pose a threat to human health, if only briefly.

On Monday, an explosion in the building housing the plant's No. 3 reactor apparently damaged both a water-filled chamber at the base of the reactor and the reactor containment unit itself, IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano told reporters Tuesday.

Damage to the core involved about 5% of its nuclear fuel, Amano said.

It was unclear how much radioactive material may have been emitted, what kind of health threat that could pose or when the danger would end.

"There are enormous quantities of radiation," said Dr. Ira Helfand, a member of Physicians for Social Responsibility, which opposes the use of nuclear power. "The containment is not nearly as good as around the reactor cores themselves. The potential for a major release of radiation from those sites is very real, as we saw last night with the fire."

Japanese officials told the IAEA that radioactivity had been released "directly into the atmosphere" during Tuesday's fire in the No. 4 reactor, the U.N. watchdog organization said.

Crews put that fire out, and by Tuesday afternoon, Edano said, radiation readings -- which had reached dangerously high levels at the plant earlier -- had decreased.

Still, concerns about radioactive fuel boiling off its coolant and igniting continued Wednesday. Plant operators and government officials initially considered using helicopters to drop water into the cooling pond through the damaged roof of the reactor building, but rejected the idea when they discovered that the spent fuel pond was too far from the hole in the roof, a Kyodo News report said.

In addition, Edano said, cooling systems at two other reactors, No. 5 and No. 6, were "not functioning well."

Plant managers were considering removing panels from the buildings housing those reactors in an effort to prevent the hydrogen buildup that officials believe caused the other explosions, the IAEA said.

Edano said earlier that he could not rule out the possibility of a meltdown at all three troubled reactors at the plant.

A meltdown occurs when nuclear fuel rods cannot be cooled and melt the steel and concrete structure containing them. In the worst-case scenario, the fuel can spill out of the containment unit and spread radioactivity through the air and water. That, public health officials say, can cause both immediate and long-term health problems, including radiation poisoning and cancer.

If fuel rods inside the reactors are melting, "the million-dollar question is whether that melting will be contained," said James Walsh, a CNN contributor and research associate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's security studies program.

At present, the long-term impact on public health from the crisis appears minimal, Brenner said.

"I think, at this point in time, there's no real evidence that there are health risks to the general population," he said.

The weather has emerged as a key variable, but on Wednesday morning, winds were blowing out to sea, CNN Meteorologist Sean Morris said.

Radiation levels in Tokyo, about 225 kilometers (140 miles) southwest of the plant, were twice the usual level on Tuesday. But the concentration -- 0.809 microsieverts per hour -- posed no health threat, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government said.

Source: CNN