Vietnam is unlikely to be affected by radioactive dusts from the explosions of the Fukushima No 1 Nuclear Plant in Japan resulted from the earthquake and tsunami on March 11, affirmed a Vietnamese scientific official.

Deputy Minister of Science and Technology Le Dinh Tien on March 16 rejected information about Vietnam suffering from the plant’s radiation cloud.

According to Japanese and international nuclear scientists, the incident at the Fukushima No 1 Nuclear Plant is different in essence and level from the Chernobyl disaster in 1986 in the former Soviet Union.

Radioactive dusts emitted from the explosions at the Fukushima No 1 Nuclear Plant are not large, they said.

The Vietnamese Ministry of Science and Technology has set up a working team comprising managers and scientists to closely monitor the incident and directly engage with the Vietnam-based Japan International Nuclear Power Development Company to obtain updated information.

According to an official news source from Japan and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), automatic circuit breakers and emergency cooling systems failed in the No. 1 and 3 reactors at Fukushima No 1 Nuclear Plant, causing a blast from a build-up of hydrogen.

Vietnamese scientists said the explosions were lessons and necessary experiences for Vietnam in its preparations for its first-ever nuclear power plant and in its efforts to deal with natural disasters./.