Confusion Over Radiation Levels at Japan Nuclear Plant
Confusion reigned Sunday at a crippled nuclear power plant in northeastern Japan, as emergency workers were pulled from a reactor building after dangerously high levels of radiation were detected in water that had accumulated in a turbine housing unit.
A spokesman for the operator of the Fukushima-Daiichi power plant originally told reporters that radiation had spiked 10 million times the normal levels Sunday, driving workers to flee the facility. Authorities later said those radiation readings were not accurate and that new tests had been ordered.
Officials say they also detected heightened levels of radioactive iodine in Pacific Ocean water within 300 meters of the plant. The nuclear safety agency said one-half a liter of the water contains the same amount of radiation that a person can safely be exposed to in a year.
However, officials at the agency said the ocean will quickly dilute the worst contamination, and that there is no immediate threat to marine life or seafood safety.
Contaminated seawater is the latest indication that radiation from the plant is spreading. Heightened levels of radioactive substances also have been found this past week in the water supply in Tokyo and nearby areas. Radiation has been found in vegetables and milk from farms near Fukushima, prompting several countries to ban imports of food from the region.
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A spokesman for the operator of the Fukushima-Daiichi power plant originally told reporters that radiation had spiked 10 million times the normal levels Sunday, driving workers to flee the facility. Authorities later said those radiation readings were not accurate and that new tests had been ordered.
Officials say they also detected heightened levels of radioactive iodine in Pacific Ocean water within 300 meters of the plant. The nuclear safety agency said one-half a liter of the water contains the same amount of radiation that a person can safely be exposed to in a year.
However, officials at the agency said the ocean will quickly dilute the worst contamination, and that there is no immediate threat to marine life or seafood safety.
Contaminated seawater is the latest indication that radiation from the plant is spreading. Heightened levels of radioactive substances also have been found this past week in the water supply in Tokyo and nearby areas. Radiation has been found in vegetables and milk from farms near Fukushima, prompting several countries to ban imports of food from the region.
fuente: http://www.voanews.com/
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