All eyes on Wall Street are locked on the situation at Japan's Fukushima nuclear plant.
Following is a late update from Reuters, a CNBC news partner.
The United States showed increasing alarm on Wednesday about how Japan was handling its nuclear crisis, urging Americans to leave the area near an earthquake-crippled power plant and relying on U.S. experts for updates.
Without criticizing the Japanese government, which has shown signs of being overwhelmed by the crisis, U.S. officials admitted their call for American citizens to evacuate the area near the Fukushima nuclear plant went further than Japanese advice.
The State Department recommended that U.S. citizens within 50 miles of the Fukushima plant leave the area or stay indoors "if safe evacuation is not practical."
Japan's government has asked people living within 12 miles of the Fukushima plant to evacuate and those between 12 miles and 18 miles to stay indoors
The State Department's warning to U.S. citizens was based on new information collected by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Department of Energy and other U.S. sources.
The top U.S. nuclear regulator told Congress on Wednesday that radiation levels around Japan's troubled nuclear power plant may give emergency workers "lethal doses" of radiation, preventing them from getting near the plant.
"We believe that around the reactor site there are high levels of radiation," said Gregory Jaczko. "It would be very difficult for emergency workers to get near the reactors. The doses they could experience would potentially be lethal doses in a very short period of time."
What else must you know about these frightening developments? Find out from Tom Drolett of Drolett & Associates Energy Services, formerly the CEO of Ontario Hydro International, North America's largest nuclear utility.
Watch the video now!
