Radiation soars at Japan reactor

KITAKAMI (Japan), Mar 27 (AFP): Dangerous levels of radiation detected in water thought to be leaking from a stricken Japanese reactor dealt a new setback Sunday to efforts to avert a nuclear disaster. The operator of the Fukushima Daiichi power station reported radiation levels 10 million times higher than usual in puddles of water near reactor two, as white steam continued to rise from the tsunami-battered complex. The water radiation level was 1,000 millisieverts per hour, making it too perilous to remain at the reactor turbine building and forcing the evacuation of workers there, plant operator Tokyo Electric Power said. "It is an extremely high figure," nuclear safety agency spokesman Hidehiko Nishiyama said of the latest reading. "There is a high possibility that (the water) came from the reactor." A single dose of 1,000 millisieverts can cause temporary radiation sickness, including nausea and vomiting. An exposure of 100 millisieverts per year is considered the lowest level at which an increase in cancer risk is evident. Workers were trying to pinpoint the exact source of the leak, but there are concerns that fuel rod vessels or their valves and pipes are damaged. A key concern is how to safely pump away the highly radioactive water, but chief government spokesman Yukio Edano admitted progress at the site was slow. "It will take some time in order to remove the water while ensuring the safety of workers," Edano told a press conference. There was also a warning from Yukiya Amano, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, that the emergency could go on for weeks, if not months, given the damage to the plant, The New York Times reported. Meanwhile, three workers who stepped in radioactive water inside a crippled Japanese nuclear plant will be discharged from medical care with no sign of serious injuries, officials said Sunday. The trio, in their 20s and 30s, will leave a National Institute of Radiological Sciences facility in Chiba east of Tokyo on Monday and be monitored by local clinics, an official at the institute said. The men stepped in a puddle of radioactive water while working to restore power at the reactor three unit of the Fukushima Daiichi plant, which was badly damaged by a massive earthquake and tsunami on March 11. Two of them were not wearing protective rubber boots and received an estimated dose of 2,000 to 6,000 millisieverts of radiation below the ankles. Normally about half of people who receive a 5,000 millisieverts dose across the entire body would be expected to die within a month. The third man wore protective shoes and avoided direct contact with the radioactive water.