Japan's radioactive nightmare gets worse as levels skyrocket, sparking fears of a new reactor leak
BY Kathleen Lucadamo
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Saturday, April 16th 2011, 12:14 PM
Radioactivity levels skyrocketed in the sea surrounding a tsunami-ravaged power plant in Japan this week, raising fears that a new leak in the facility needs to be sealed.
Radioactive iodine-131 levels hit 6,500 times the legal limit on Friday - 1,100 times the limit the previous day, officials said Saturday.
Although the rising radiation levels are below samples taken earlier this month, a new leak would be hard to plug, authorities conceded.
"We want to determine the origin and contain the leak, but I must admit that tracking it down is difficult," said Hidehiko Nishiyama of the Nuclear and Safety Division.
The news of a second leak came as the country was coping with another small earthquake Saturday that hit hours after the government called for plant operators to improve their emergency system to prevent another nuclear disaster.
The magnitude-5.9 earthquake produced no immediate damage and is one of many minor ones to strike Japan since the magnitude-9.0 one clobbered the country on March 11.
Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear complex has been releasing radioactivity since last month's earthquake disabled power in parts of the country.
The power plant plugged the last leak on April 5 after an 8-inch crack in its maintenance pit was discovered.
The Japanese government is considering dismantling its operator, Tokyo Electric Power Co., according to the newspaper Asahi Shimbun.
Under the plan, the plant would be closely monitored by the government before it filed for bankruptcy and restructured its assets, the paper reported.
With News Wire Services
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