Radiation in ditch hits new record

October 24, 2013

Radiation doubles to new high in No. 1 plant water ditch

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2013/10/24/national/radiation-doubles-to-new-high-in-no-1-plant-water-ditch/#.Uml0xlM0_9k

JIJI

Tokyo Electric Power Co. said Thursday that radiation rose to a new record in water collected from a drainage ditch at its stricken Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant.

Tepco said it detected a maximum of 140,000 becquerels per liter of beta ray-emitting substances, including strontium, from a water sample collected Wednesday from the ditch, which extends to the sea beyond the plant’s port.

The figure is 2.3 times higher than the previous record of 59,000 becquerels detected in water sampled at the same location Tuesday, and was more than 11 times the previous day’s reading.

The measurement location is about 600 meters from the open ocean and close to the storage tank that leaked some 300 tons of radioactive water in August.

Tepco said rainwater may have carried radioactive materials in surrounding areas into the drainage ditch.

Sandbags were placed downstream, but heavy rain may have caused the water in the ditch to overflow them and enter the ocean.

Also on Thursday, Tepco started transferring radioactive water that has built up inside the tanks’ flood enclosures to a covered reservoir ahead of heavy rain expected from fresh typhoons approaching Japan.

Drain water radiation level more than doubles at Fukushima plant

http://mainichi.jp/english/english/newsselect/news/20131024p2g00m0dm081000c.html

TOKYO (Kyodo) -- The operator of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant said Thursday the radiation level of water from a drainage channel near the tank that leaked 300 tons of highly toxic water in August has more than doubled.

The water, extracted Wednesday, indicated a record high 140,000 becquerels per liter of beta radiation emitted by radioactive materials such as strontium-90, Tokyo Electric Power Co. said. The previous day's reading was 59,000 becquerels.

TEPCO said the spike in the radiation level may be attributable to the recent heavy rain that has caused soil contaminated with radioactive substances to enter the drainage channel.

The channel is located near a cluster of tanks that hold highly radioactive water produced as a result of continuing water injections into the three reactors that suffered meltdowns during the March 2011 nuclear disaster.

TEPCO is struggling more than ever during the current typhoon season to prevent leaks as rainwater accumulates inside the leak-protection barriers around the tanks.

With another typhoon approaching Japan's mainland, the company said Thursday that it has started pumping out water from the 30-centimeter-high barriers to underground tanks.

TEPCO stopped using the seven underground tanks at the plant after three were found to have leaked water in April.

But it has been forced to reopen three tanks confirmed leak-free as temporary storage facilities.

The water that is being pumped out contains a maximum 970 becquerels per liter of strontium-90, TEPCO said.

The legal limit for the release of strontium-90 into the sea outside the nuclear power plant is set at 30 becquerels per liter. Strontium tends to accumulate in bones and is thought to cause bone cancer and leukemia.