Japan: Confirmed Seawater Samples Show Signs Of Radioactive Materials

Japanese authorities provided Thursday the IAEA with data on seawater samples they collected on 22 and 23 March, after detecting iodine and cesium in the water near the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

A vessel from the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC) collected water samples at several points 30 kilometres from the coastline and found measurable concentrations of iodine-131 and cesium-137. The iodine concentrations were at or above Japanese regulatory limits, and the cesium levels were well below those limits, according to the IAEA.

The IAEA’s Marine Environmental Laboratory in Monaco has received the data for review.

Japanese Workers Treated for Radiation Exposure

Japanese authorities today reported that three workers at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant were exposed to elevated levels of radiation. The three were working in the turbine building of reactor Unit 3 and have received a radiation dose in the range of 170-180 millisieverts.

Two of the workers have been hospitalized for treatment of severely contaminated feet, which may have suffered radiation burns. The workers had been working for about three hours in contact with contaminated water.