Nuclear Meltdown

Japan: Radiation may be leaking continuously into sea

(Agencies)
Updated: 2011-03-31 12:44

TOKYO - The consistently high levels of radiation found in the sea outside Japan's tsunami-damaged nuclear plant complex may mean that radiation is leaking out continuously, Japan's nuclear watchdog said on Thursday.

Related readings:  UN: High radiation outside Japan's exclusion zone  Seawater near JP reactor 3,355 times legal radiation limit  Trace radiation found in more Chinese areas

"That is a possibility," Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency Deputy Director-General Hidehiko Nishiyama told a news conference when asked if there was continuous contamination of the sea.

He added that regulators and engineers did not know where the leaks may be.

Radioactive Iodine in seawater near the drains running from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant was 4,385 times more than the legal limit, the highest recorded since the crisis was triggered by an earthquake and tsunami on March 11.