Japan Re-Tests Fukushima after False High Radiation Reports

World | March 27, 2011, Sunday // 17:22|  views

Fukushima is one of the oldest operating nuclear plants in Japan and it turned 40 years old on March 26. Photo by EPA/BGNE

Tokyo Electric Power Company has announced it is re-examining test results that showed extremely high levels of radiation at its quake-damaged Fukushima nuclear plant.

Earlier on Sunday, the utility reported that water pooling in the turbine building of the second reactor of Fukushima was 10 million times more radioactive than normal contained a sharply elevated level of the radioactive iodine-134, CNN informed.

However, according to Hidehiko Nishiyama, spokesperson of Japan's nuclear watchdog, those figures were "a bit odd".

Nishiyama said the surface water showed 1000 millisieverts of radiation per hour, which is more than 330 times the dose of an average person in a developed country receives per year, and four times the limit Japan's Health Ministry has set for emergency workers struggling to prevent a meltdown at the damaged plant.

"Certainly, we have to be concerned about the fact that the level of radiation is increasing. But at this point, we do not envisage negative health impacts," Nishiyama said.

Later on Sunday, Tokyo Electric Power Company apologized for the "mistake" and said it got the readings wrong.    

However, the radiation spike at the second reactor of Fukushima was still very high and enough to evacuate workers.

The nuclear plant was damaged in the earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan on March 11 and caused the deaths of over 10 000 people, with 17 000 more missing.

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Tags: Japan, Fukushima, radiation, Earthquake, tsunami, nuclear plant

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