Japan: Radiation 10,000 Times More Than Normal Level Found In Water

Water in which three workers were exposed to at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant contained radioactive materials 10,000 times the normal level, plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. said Friday, reports QNA.

According to QNA, this latest news underlines the possibility that part of the fuel in the No. 3 reactor of the plant, or the spent fuel stored in the pool in the reactor building, may be damaged.

The three employees were working to restore power to the No. 3 reactor, which lost its cooling function, QNA reported, adding that they were working in the basement of the reactor’s turbine building when they were irradiated.

QNA said that two of the three have been hospitalized due to possible burns caused by beta rays which can cause major skin damage.

They workers were not wearing boots at the time and their feet became soaked in the water, QNA noted, adding that according to TEPCO almost no water was present during an on-site inspection the previous day and that the level of radiation was low during the inspection.

”Because of this, the workers were believed to have continued their work even after their dosimeters’ alarm went off, assuming a problem with the machine,” a TEPCO official said, according to the QNA report.