Levels of radioactive substances have jumped in the Pacific seabed off Japan to as much as 1,000 times the normal readings, authorities have announced.
Seabed samples collected near the Fukushima nuclear power plant, crippled by a massive earthquake and tsunami in March, contained radioactive iodine and cesium, Japan’s Kyodo news reported.
The normal readings for the materials can be up to several becquerels, the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) said. But these readings were between 98 to 190 becquerels of iodine per kilogram and 1,200 to 1,400 becquerels of cesium.
TEPCO said that the radioactive substances may have fallen into the sea after being released into the air from the plant or may have been carried by contaminated water that seeped from the plant, according to news agency AFP.
Levels of the two materials were too low to be gauged in the past, a TEPCO spokeswoman said. The company did not say whether the levels were considered harmful.
The Coming Crisis: Fukushima: Radioactive readings jump in Japan's seabed - 4th May 2011
Seabed samples collected near the Fukushima nuclear power plant, crippled by a massive earthquake and tsunami in March, contained radioactive iodine and cesium, Japan’s Kyodo news reported.
The normal readings for the materials can be up to several becquerels, the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) said. But these readings were between 98 to 190 becquerels of iodine per kilogram and 1,200 to 1,400 becquerels of cesium.
TEPCO said that the radioactive substances may have fallen into the sea after being released into the air from the plant or may have been carried by contaminated water that seeped from the plant, according to news agency AFP.
Levels of the two materials were too low to be gauged in the past, a TEPCO spokeswoman said. The company did not say whether the levels were considered harmful.
The Coming Crisis: Fukushima: Radioactive readings jump in Japan's seabed - 4th May 2011
