Radioactivity Level Hits Record High in Fukushima Ditch Water

Tokyo, Oct. 23 (Jiji Press)--Tokyo Electric Power Co. <9501> said Wednesday that it has detected the highest level ever of beta ray-emitting radioactive substances, such as strontium, in water collected Tuesday from a drainage ditch near a water storage tank at its crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant. The water contained 59,000 becquerels per liter of such radioactive substances, more than 10 times the level of 5,000 becquerels detected in water collected Monday, TEPCO said. TEPCO said the level surged as radioactive substances around the site flowed into the drainage ditch after heavy rain. As the ditch is connected to the ocean, the company is sandbagging the ditch on the ocean side and pumping water. The measure, however, cannot fully block the water from flowing into the sea, according to the company. The ditch is located some 600 meters from the sea and close to a tank which leaked 300 tons of radioactive water in August. TEPCO also said Wednesday that in two locations, it has directly released low-level radioactive water inside the barriers around water storage tanks. The company took the step on concerns that water will flow over the barriers around tanks containing radioactive water. Before releasing water inside the barriers, the company is required to transfer it to storage tanks and check whether radioactivity levels are below provisional limits set by itself. The water was released after its levels rose to 26-28 centimeters Tuesday evening inside 30-centimeter-high barriers, according to TEPCO. On Tuesday night, it was raining faster than the pace at which water inside the barriers was transferred to storage tanks, the company said. TEPCO said it checked radioactivity levels at four places in each of the two tank areas and found they were below its provisional limits. The company thus released the water in the small hours Wednesday, it said. Last week, TEPCO also directly released water inside such barriers after heavy rain. The Nuclear Regulation Authority has said that it does not allow TEPCO to release water inside barriers around water storage tanks without taking necessary steps. END