Spike in tritium at Fukushima nuke plant

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September 12, 2013

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Spike in tritium at Fukushima nuke plant

Source: Agencies | September 12, 2013, Thursday |

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The operator of Japan’s wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant said levels of tritium — considered one of the least harmful radioactive elements — spiked more than 15 times in groundwater near a leaked tank at the facility over three days this week.

Tokyo Electric Power Co said tritium levels in water taken from a well close to storage tanks holding irradiated water rose to 64,000 becquerels per liter on Tuesday from 4,200 at the same location on Sunday.

TEPCO said last month that 300 tons of highly radioactive water leaked from one of the hastily built steel tanks at the plant, which was crippled by a massive earthquake and tsunami in March 2011.

A spokesman told reporters yesterday that the company was investigating the high tritium reading and could not rule out the possibility that last month’s leak had contaminated the groundwater.

The elevated readings at the plant come just days after Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told the International Olympic Committee the situation at Fukushima, 230 kilometers from Tokyo, was “under control,” with contamination limited to the area immediately surrounding the plant. At the weekend, Tokyo was chosen to host the 2020 Olympic Games.

The spike in radioactive elements threatens to scuttle plans to build a bypass to route groundwater away from the plant.

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Spike in tritium at Fukushima nuke plant

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