Reactors now leaking plutonium into soil

Weapons-grade plutonium was found in the soil surrounding Japan’s crisis-stricken power plant yesterday, heightening fears at the facility, where workers have struggled for weeks to keep the nuclear lid from blowing off its damaged, leaky reactors.

The world’s most serious atomic crisis in 25 years went from bad to worse after crews discovered traces of the material — a key ingredient in nuclear weapons.

“The situation is very grave,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said today. “We are doing our utmost efforts to contain the damage.”