VIENNA, Austria - The medical aid organization Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) may pull its emergency team out of the area near a stricken nuclear plant in Japan if the situation escalates, Eric Ouannes, the head of its office in Japan, said on Thursday.

"We are monitoring the situation on an hourly basis. We have radiometers (radiation detectors) with each of our teams on the ground," Ouannes said.

"As soon as the area reaches a level that would be unhealthy or dangerous for our teams, we will evacuate them. We have the means to evacuate quite rapidly and evacuation routes have been identified."