Japan on Tuesday announced it was on maximum alert following detection of plutonium in soil of its crippled Fukushima nuclear plant. As fears of more serious contamination grew, workers are scrambling hard to stop highly radioactive water from reaching the sea. This quake, tsunami and the nuclear accident are the biggest crises for Japan in decades, Prime Minister Naoto Kan told Parliament. He said the situation at the troubled nuclear plant continues to be unpredictable and added that the government will tackle the problem while in a state of maximum alert. The Prime Minister said that he was seeking advice on whether to extend the 20-km evacuation zone around the plant. He also said that it is highly likely that the six-reactor Fukushima plant will eventually be decommissioned. In Paris, France's Industry and Energy Minister Eric Besson said that a French nuclear fuel company would send two experts to Japan to help tackle the crisis at the crippled nuclear plant.In Tokyo, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano told a news conference that the situation at the plant is very serious and suggests a certain degree of melting of fuel rods, as he expressed deep concern over detection of plutonium in the soil of the crippled facility. TEPCO, which on Monday announced detection of plutonium, said the confirmed amount of the radioactive material in the soil does not pose a major risk to human health. It said the plutonium is believed to have been discharged from nuclear fuel at the plant and pledged that it would strengthen monitoring of the environment in and around the nuclear plant.Meanwhile, the National Police Agency of Japan on Tuesday said the catastrophic earthquake and ensuing tsunami have left 11,082 people dead and 16,717 others unaccounted for in the country.