Originally published on October 4, 2013
The operator of Japan's disaster-stricken Fukushima nuclear plant has admitted hundreds of litres of radioactive water have leaked after workers overfilled a holding tank. A representative made the announcement on Thursday.
An estimated 430 liters said to have leaked from that tank which did not have a functioning water level gauge.
Reuters reports: "Recent site mishaps have returned Tokyo Electric Power Co, or Tepco, to the spotlight, calling into question its ability to execute a complex cleanup that could last decades. The company has vowed to monitor the tanks more closely and improve its water management.
"Amid mounting international alarm, Japan's government stepped in last month and said it would fund efforts to improvement water management at the plant.
"The latest leaks show Tepco's efforts to improve its handling of the contaminated water are not sufficient, Japan's top government spokesman, Yoshihide Suga, told reporters on Thursday. The government will take steps to deal with the water, he said, adding that he thought the situation was under control.
"Tepco has been relying on hastily built tanks to hold excess cooling water flushed over damaged reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi site, where three units suffered nuclear meltdowns and hydrogen explosions after a March 2011 earthquake and tsunami.
"Tepco said the water that leaked contained 200,000 becquerels per liter of beta-emitting radioactive isotopes, including strontium 90. The legal limit for strontium 90 is 30 becquerels per liter.
"The breach was discovered in a tank holding area away from where 300 metric tons (1 metric ton = 1.1023 tons) of toxic water escaped in August.
"About 430 liters (113 gallons) of water spilled over a period of as much as 12 hours after a worker misjudged how much could be held by the tank, which is tilting because of an uneven location, Tepco spokesman Masayuki Ono told reporters.
"The company is filling tanks to the b
