Fukushima Radiation Levels Now "Off The Scale"

Remember the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant that melted down after the devastating Japanese earthquake and tsunami? Well, things have gotten worse with time. Five months after the disaster, plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Company (

) says that radiation levels are greater than 10 sieverts per hour at the foot of a ventilation chimney between two of the reactors. To get some perspective, a single dose of 10 sieverts will kill you, while half that dose would be fatal to 50% of people exposed to it. According to Bloomberg, 10 sieverts is the maximum level that can be read by a Geiger counter. Some experts are speculating that levels could have been this high since the initial disaster on March 11. Tepco has pledged to stabilize the reactors at the Fukushima plant by January.