Fukushima: Record Outdoor Radiation Level Of 25 Sieverts Detected, ‘Can Kill In 20 Min’

Record outdoor radiation level that ‘can kill in 20 min’ detected at Fukushima (RT, Dec 8, 2013):

Outdoor radiation levels have reached their highest at Japan’s Fukushima nuclear plant,warns the operator company.Radiation found in an area near a steel pipe that connects reactor buildings could kill an exposed person in 20 minutes,local media reported.

The plant’s operator and the utility responsible for the clean-up Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) detected record radiation levels on a duct which connects reactor buildings and the 120 meter tall ventilation pipe located outside on Friday. TEPCO measured radiation at eight locations around the pipe with the highest estimated at two locations – 25 Sieverts per hour and about 15 Sieverts per hour, the company said.

This is the highest level ever detected outside the reactor buildings, according to local broadcaster NHK. Earlier TEPCO said radiation levels of at least 10 Sieverts per hour were found on the pipe.

The ventilation pipe used to conduct radioactive gasses after the nuclear disaster may still contain radioactive substances, TEPCO added.

The earthquake in March 2011 triggered a tsunami that hit Japan’s coast, damaging the Fukushima Daiichi plant and causing the meltdown of three nuclear reactors. The crippled reactors burnt through the concrete basement while the water used to cool them has been leaking into the soil and contaminating the ground water on the premises of the nuclear facility. The radioactive water stored at the site has been seeping into the Pacific Ocean.

The water leakage has raised health concerns among Japan’s neighbors. For instance, South Korea has been testing fish caught off the country’s coast, according to the country’s fisheries ministry.

Meanwhile, the chairwoman of the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission assured that the radioactive water will reach the US West coast at safe levels.

“The highest amount of radiation that will reach the U.S. is two orders of magnitude – 100 times – less than the drinking water standard,” Allison Macfarlane said in Tokyo on Friday as cited by Bloomberg. “So, if you could drink the salt water, which you won’t be able to do, it’s still fairly low.”

Currently 400 tons of contaminated water is being produced at the site on a daily basis. In an attempt to solve the storage problem the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) proposed on Wednesday to consider dumping toxic water into the ocean after lowering the level of radioactive materials.

“Regarding the growing amounts of contaminated water at the site, TEPCO should… examine all options for its further management, including the possibility of resuming controlled discharges (into the sea) in compliance with authorized limits,” the IAEA said in a statement.

TEPCO has been testing a high-tech water processing machine called ALPS, which can remove all radioactive materials from the water except tritium. However, the low-energy isotope is considered to be less dangerous than other radioactive isotopes such as caesium and strontium, also contained in the tainted water.

1 thought on “Fukushima: Record Outdoor Radiation Level Of 25 Sieverts Detected, ‘Can Kill In 20 Min’”

  1. This will only get worse. The fallout radiation continues, and it is now reaching the western US. The Pacific is dying, the amount of polluted waters going into the Pacific from TEPCO each day now they admit it exceeds 1000 tons a day……far more than the 300-400 they have been saying. I am sure the real amount is much higher.
    The Pacific ocean puts 5400 miles between Fukushima and the San Francisco bay. Over 3000 miles of this magnificent ocean is already dead……by the end of 2015, it will be 100% toxic and totally dead.
    TEPCO executives should be put in Fukushima and left there to die, along with government officials who stood by while Japan waged a silent war against the world…..a war that cannot be won.
    This is a crime of such magnitude that it is difficult to find the right words to describe it. World leaders who did nothing deserve what is coming, they should be put in Fukushima, too.
    TEPCO even offered pregnant women free rent to live in Fukushima a few months back. What kind of devil offers such horrors?
    The food chain has been destroyed. All our crab in the Sonoma County area of CA is dead. The local Press Democrat said the Sonoma coast is now a dead area due to climate change. Climate change? Fukushima.

    Reply

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