Radiation levels rise in seawater

In this March 24, 2011 file photo, a young evacuee is screened at a shelter for leaked radiation from the damaged Fukushima nuclear plant in Fukushima, Fukushima prefecture, Japan. The March 11 earthquake and tsunami caused massive death and destruction across northeastern Japan. But those who live near the crippled Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant face a burden atop the losses they've already suffered: a fear of radiation that experts say could prove more unhealthy in the long run than the still-low levels of leaked radiation itself. (AP Photo/Wally Santana, File) *** Local Caption *** TOK102_Japan_Exposure_Anxiety.jpgShow less

TOKYO // Radioactivity levels are soaring in seawater near the crippled Fukushima Daiichi plant, Japan's nuclear safety agency said yesterday, two weeks after the nuclear power plant was hit by a massive earthquake and tsunami.

Even as engineers tried to pump puddles of radioactive water from the power plant 240 kilometres north of Tokyo, the nuclear safety agency said tests on Friday showed radioactive iodine levels had reached 1,250 times higher than normal in the seawater just offshore the plant.

Officials said iodine-131 levels in seawater 30km from the coastal nuclear complex were within acceptable limits established by regulations and the contamination posed little risk to aquatic life.

"Ocean currents will disperse radiation particles and so it will be very diluted by the time it gets consumed by fish and seaweed," said Hidehiko Nishiyama, a senior official from Japan's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency.

Despite that reassurance, the disclosure may well heighten international concern over Japanese seafood exports. Several countries have already banned milk and produce from areas around the Fukushima Daiichi plant, while others have been monitoring Japanese seafood.

The prolonged efforts to prevent a catastrophic meltdown at the plant have also intensified concerns around the world about nuclear power. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said it was time to reassess the international atomic safety regime.

Radioactive water was found in buildings housing three of the six reactors at the crippled plant. On Thursday, three workers sustained burns at reactor No 3 after being exposed to radiation levels 10,000 times higher than usually found in a reactor.

The crisis at the nuclear plant has overshadowed the massive relief and recovery effort from the magnitude-9.0 quake and the huge tsunami it triggered on March 11 that left more than 27,500 people dead or missing in north-east Japan.

The US Department of Energy said on its website that no significant quantities of radiological material had been deposited in the area around the plant since March 19, according to tests on Friday.

Mr Nishiyama said Japanese agencies were trying to work out ways of "safely bailing out the water so that it does not get out into the environment, and we are making preparations".

He initially said the high radiation reading inside reactor No 3, where the workers were injured, could indicate damage to the reactor. He later said it could be from venting operations to release pressure or water leakage from pipes or valves.

"There is no data suggesting a crack," Mr Nishiyama said. Reactor No 3 is the only one of the six that uses a fuel mixture of plutonium and uranium. Plutonium is the most deadly radioactive isotope.

On Friday, Mr Nishiyama chided plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co (Tepco) for not following safety procedures inside the turbine building.

More than 700 engineers have been working in shifts to stabilise the plant and work has been advancing to restart water pumps to cool their fuel rods.

Yesterday, US naval barges loaded with freshwater were headed toward the nuclear plant to help stabilise reactors. Tepco is rushing to use freshwater instead because of the corrosive potential of the salt in seawater, said Mr Nishiyama.

* Reuters, with additional reporting by Associated Press

More coverage of Japan's disaster, pages a16, a18, b7, b9 and b10