– Fukushima plant “braces for super-typhoon” — Officials admit “tough situation” could occur — More workers may be drafted in — Cesium levels already spiking in ocean (ENENews, Oct 22, 2013):
Asahi Shimbun, Oct. 22, 2013: FUKUSHIMA WATER CRISIS: TEPCO still looking for solutions as typhoon approaches […] Typhoon No. 27 is expected to hit the Japanese islands next weekend. […] [Noriyuki Imaizumi, acting general director of TEPCO’s Nuclear Power & Plant Siting Division] said he expected a “tough situation” if the rainfall from the typhoon is similar in scale to the Oct. 20 downpour. […]
Xinhua, Oct. 22, 2013: [Tepco] said Tuesday it had detected radioactive cesium one kilometer off the coast of the facility, as it braces for a super-typhoon approaching having failed to take adequate measures when a typhoon struck last week. […] radioactive cesium-137 were detected at a level of 1.6 becquerels per liter [1,600 Bq/m³] in water samples taken from the adjacent Pacific Ocean, marking the second time such radioactive materials have been found in the sea since surveys began in August. […] the latest spike in radiation levels in and around the plant — including in the ocean — controvert Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s repeated statements that the situation at the Fukushima plant is “under control.” […] the utility has been unable to confirm why cesium levels were rising at the particular spot surveyed, according to the plant’s officials Tuesday. […] More workers may be drafted in ahead of the impending typhoon that’s threatening to sideswipe Japan’s eastern seaboard […]