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Radioactivity rises in seawater near Fukushima reactor
Seawater near Japan's quake-hit Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant has a much higher level of radiation than what was previously reported, officials say.
The revelation comes in the wake of accusations levelled at plant operator Tepco of a lack of transparency and failing to provide information more promptly.
It was also heavily criticised for issuing erroneous radiation readings at the weekend, a mistake it has since apologised for, but the consequences stand.
Japan’s nuclear safety agency revealed that in one section of the seawater around the plant (near reaction no 1, 300m from the shore), radioactive iodine stood at 3,355 times the legal limit. The agency however conceded that the iodine would have deteriorated considerably by the time it reached populated areas.
Earlier samples had put the iodine level in the sea at 1,850 times the legal limit.
But both Tepco and the safety agency are unaware of what the exact source of the leak is.
"Iodine 131 has a half-life of eight days, and even considering its concentration in marine life, it will have deteriorated considerably by the time it reaches people," Hidehiko Nishiyama, deputy director-general of Japan's nuclear safety agency told a news conference.
Radioactive materials are measured by scientists in ‘half-lives’, or the time it takes to halve the radiation through natural decay. It is a perpetual process through which the strength of radioactivity dies out gradually
Iodine 131 was blamed for the high incidence of thyroid cancer among children exposed to fallout from the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in 1986.
In the meantime, plant workers are trying to prevent radioactive water from seeping into the sea, following discoveries of highly radioactive liquid inside and outside several reactor buildings.
On Monday, small amounts of plutonium were found in the soil around the plant - the latest indication that one of the reactors suffered a partial meltdown.
But, like the discovery of plutonium, experts are attributing the high levels of radiation found inside and outside reactor buildings to the plant’s melted fuel rods.
Meanwhile, president Masataka Shimizu of the Fukushima nuclear plant operator Tepco has been admitted to hospital, being treated for high blood pressure and dizziness, according to the company itself.
Shimizu has barely been seen in public since the earthquake and tsunami on 11 March which damaged the Fukushima plant.
