High-level radiation detected in trench outside Fukushima reactor building
TOKYO, March 28, Kyodo
High levels of radiation exceeding 1,000 millisieverts per hour were found in water in a trench outside the No. 2 reactor's turbine building at the troubled nuclear power plant in Fukushima on Sunday afternoon, Tokyo Electric Power Co. said Monday.
One end of the tunnel-like trench is located about 55 meters from the shore, with the surface of the water staying about 1 meter below its ground-level hole. But no trace has been confirmed of the contaminated water having flowed into the sea, an official of the company said.
Similarly high levels of radioactivity have been found in a pool of water in the basement of the turbine building for the No. 2 reactor at the Fukushima Daiichi complex, raising concerns that radioactive substances may have seeped into the environment, including the sea nearby.
The level of radiation at a similar trench for the No. 1 reactor was 0.4 millisievert per hour, the utility company said, adding that radiation could not be measured at a similar location for the No. 3 unit due to difficulty getting there.
==Kyodo