Fukushima: New Leak Causes Truly Massive Radiation Spike

Chris Carrington
Activist Post

A well near a storage tank at the stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant rose to more than 6,500 times the expected level on Thursday.

Russia Today reported:

Officials of the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) said on Friday they detected 400,000 becquerels per liter of beta ray-emitting radioactive substances – including strontium – at the site, a level 6,500 times higher than readings taken on Wednesday, NHK World reported. 

The storage tank leaked over 300 tons of contaminated water in August, some of which is believed to have found its way into the sea through a ditch. The well in question is about 10 meters from the tank and was dug to gauge leakage. TEPCO said the findings show that radioactive substances like strontium have reached the groundwater. High levels of tritium, which transfers much easier in water than strontium, had already been detected. Officials at TEPCO said they will remove any contaminated soil around the storage tank in an effort to monitor radioactivity levels of the water around the well. 

The news comes after it has been reported a powerful typhoon which swept through Japan led to highly radioactive water near the crippled nuclear power plant being released into a nearby drainage ditch, increasing the risk of it flowing into the sea. 

On Wednesday TEPCO said it had detected high levels of radiation in a ditch leading to the Pacific Ocean, and that it suspected heavy rains had lifted contaminated soil. 

This is one of many leaks that TEPCO have had to address of late. The continuing situation at Fukushima shows that regardless of what the Japanese government says about having the site under control, it clearly is not.

There have been numerous leaks into groundwater that have, by TEPCO’s admission, made it into the Pacific Ocean. With the ocean already contaminated, it’s time for the international community to insist that Japan accepts help in dealing with the constant issues at the site. By not doing so, they are risking radioactive damage to the food chain on an unprecedented scale.

It’s easy to think that just the Pacific will be directly affected, but the Pacific is just a named area of the one global ocean that covers 71% of our planet. One in six people on the planet rely on fish as their primary source of protein (source), and often selling fish is the only source of income they have to provide other basic foodstuffs for their families.

Fukushima has become a global disaster and therefore the Japanese need to consider that it needs a global effort to provide a solution. To hell with stiff upper lip and saving face, something needs to be done. Now.

Chris Carrington is a writer, researcher and lecturer with a background in science, technology and environmental studies. Chris is an editor for The Daily Sheeple where this first appeared. Wake the flock up!