Radiation over 10,000 times normal level hit 3 aff
March 25th, 2011 - 11:55 am ICT by ANITokyo, Mar 25 (ANI): Three workers at the earthquake-cum-tsunami hit Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant have been exposed to water at the plant that contained radioactive materials 10,000 times the normal level, plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Corporation has said.
There is also a possibility that part of the fuel in the No. 3 reactor of the plant or the spent fuel stored in the pool in the reactor building may have been damaged, the Kyodo news agency reports.
The three men, who are from a company cooperating with TEPCO, were involved in work to restore power to the No. 3 reactor that had lost its cooling function. The trio were reportedly working in the basement of the reactor’s turbine building when they were exposed to the radiation.
Two of the three have been hospitalised due to possible burns caused by beta rays, which can cause major skin damage. They were not wearing boots at that time and therefore their feet were reportedly soaked in the water.
TEPCO, however, claimed that no water was present there during an on-site inspection the previous day, and also that the level of radiation was low during the inspection.
‘Because of this, the workers were believed to have continued their work even after their dosimeters’ alarm went off, assuming a problem with the machine,’ a TEPCO official said.
TEPCO is now reportedly planning to strictly re-enforce the rule of evacuating the site whenever the dosimeter’s alarm goes off.
The two hospitalised workers will be transferred to the National Institute of Radiological Sciences in Chiba City for closer examination from Fukushima Medical University hospital later on Friday. (ANI)
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Tags: aff, beta rays, boots, burns, chiba city, dosimeter, earthquake, institute of radiological, kyodo news agency, medical university hospital, nuclear plant, plant operator, radiation, radioactive materials, radiological sciences, reactor, skin damage, three men, tokyo electric, turbine