Radioactive water from Japan n-plant leaks into Pacific
December 6th, 2011 - 9:47 am ICT by IANSTokyo, Dec 6 (IANS) Radioactive water from the tsunami-hit Fukushima nuclear power plant may have leaked into the Pacific Ocean, the plant operator has said.
The Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) said that around 45 tonnes of water contaminated with radioactive substances caesium and iodine had likely run into the ocean from a gutter into which water had leaked from a condensation unit, Xinhua reported.
Junichi Matsumoto, a general manager at TEPCO, said the leaked water contained 16,000 becquerels per litre of radioactive cesium 134 and 29,000 becquerels of cesium 137, surpassing government safety limits by 267 and 322 times respectively.
Local media reports said the contaminated water may also contain other radioactive substances such as strontium, known to cause bone cancer in humans.
TEPCO officials said Monday that contaminated water leaked from a desalination unit through a crack in a concrete wall into a gutter. The gutter connects with a drain that flows freely into the Pacific Ocean.
Sand bags were being used as an emergency means to prevent further leakage, but it could take up to three weeks to know the exact amount of leaked radioactive water.
The Japanese government Monday halted shipments of rice from some farms in Fukushima prefecture due to the yields containing high levels of radioactive cesium.
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- Japanese company finds radiation traces in baby powder - Dec 07, 2011
- Outflow of highly radioactive water from Japan n-plant stops (Lead) - Apr 06, 2011
- Tokyo tap water found to have radioactive iodine beyond Japan's regulated standards - Mar 20, 2011
- Radiation detected in Japan tea - Jun 10, 2011
- Highly radioactive water leak in tsunami hit Fukushima nuke plant plugged: TEPCO - Apr 06, 2011
- Steel wall being built to prevent radioactive water from Jap nuke plant seeping into Pacific Ocean - Apr 09, 2011
- Japan dumps contaminated water into ocean - Apr 05, 2011
- Radiation detected in Japan fish - Apr 06, 2011
- Japan: radioactive source contaminating sea not clear - Apr 04, 2011
- Radioactive iodine exceeding limit for infants found in Tokyo water - Mar 23, 2011
- 250 tonnes of radioactive water leaks from Japan n-plant - May 22, 2011
- Fukushima-contaminated tuna caught off San Diego coast - May 29, 2012
- Japan: nitrogen injected into nuclear reactor to avoid hydrogen explosion - Apr 07, 2011
- Complications arise in radioactive water removal at Japan's Fukushima nuke plant - Mar 31, 2011
Tags: becquerels, bone cancer, caesium, cesium 137, concrete wall, contaminated water, government safety, japanese government, nuclear power plant, ocean sand, plant operator, radioactive cesium, radioactive substances, radioactive water, safety limits, sand bags, strontium, tepco, tokyo electric power company, xinhua