TEPCO finds radiation hot spots but no new leaks
Print Edition
The operator of the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant said yesterday it had found new radiation hot spots near tanks storing radioactive water, but no new leaks.
Around 300 tons of toxic liquid is believed to have leaked from one of the tanks holding polluted water, some of which was used to cool the reactors, an incident dubbed the most serious in nearly two years.
Plant owner Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) warned some of it might have flowed into the Pacific Ocean.
And during inspections yesterday of around 300 other tanks of a similar design, TEPCO said while no more holes had been found, two areas were a cause for concern.
“We have confirmed two spots where radiation doses are high” near two other tanks, a company statement said.
But the levels of water in these two tanks have not changed since they were pressed into service to store contaminated water and the ground around them was dry, it added.
The inspections were prompted by the discovery of a leak that the company said may have carried radioactive materials out to sea, with the country’s nuclear watchdog voicing concerns there could be similar leaks from other containers.
Scientists say levels of radiation in the ocean in several spots along the Fukushima coast had been recovering.
“It is too early to estimate the impact of the latest leak,” said Masashi Kusakabe, researcher at Marine Ecology research Institute.
Jota Kanda, an oceanographer and professor at Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology, said: “It is inevitable that some water has reached the sea. So far its impact on the marine environment is limited, but it will be a different story if more leaks happen.”
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