New contamination of well discovered

September 10, 2013

Leaked toxic water found at another site at Fukushima plant: TEPCO

http://mainichi.jp/english/english/newsselect/news/20130910p2g00m0dm032000c.html

TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Tokyo Electric Power Co. said Monday it has detected 3,200 becquerels per liter of radioactive substances in a well near a leaky water storage tank at its crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

The radioactive substances emitting strontium and other beta rays were detected in samples taken Sunday from a well about 20 meters north of the water storage tank in the H4 area where toxic water had leaked. On Thursday, TEPCO said it had detected 650 becquerels per liter of such radioactive substances in another well located about 20 south of the storage tank.

The latest finding raises the possibility that leaked toxic water has reached groundwater at the power plant, which was devastated by the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami.

To prevent groundwater from being contaminated at the reactors, TEPCO plans to use wells to pump up the groundwater before it flows into the reactor buildings and is discharged into the sea.

But the latest finding could affect the utility's plan as the nearest well to be used to pump up groundwater is only 130 meters away from the monitoring well where highly radioactive contamination was found in samples on Sunday.