And now on the other side

August 27, 2013

TEPCO: High radiation found on other side of tank

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/news/20130827_11.html

The operator of the disabled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant says radioactive water may have flowed out of a leaking storage tank in 2 opposite directions.

Tokyo Electric Power Company found on Monday last week that more than 300 tons of highly radioactive wastewater had leaked from one of its storage tanks.

The utility said at the time that the water seeped out of a low barrier around the tanks through an open rainwater drainage valve on the northeastern side.

The company now says workers detected last Thursday a radiation level of 16 millisieverts per hour near an open valve on the southern side as well. The reading was higher than in nearby areas.

TEPCO officials fear contaminated water may have come out from this valve as well. They've decided to remove soil from a wider area as the runoff may have seeped into the ground.

The utility still doesn't know the cause of the leakage or the extent of contamination. Officials suspect some of the water may have flowed into the ocean through a drainage ditch.