Tritium surges tenfold in groundwater at Fukushima nuclear plant; typhoon effect suspected JIJI Oct 12, 2014 Article history PRINT SHARE Tokyo Electric Power Co. said Saturday the concentration of radioactive tritium in groundwater at its stricken Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant has surged more than tenfold this month. The level of tritium in a groundwater sample collected Thursday from a well east of the plant’s No. 2 reactor measured 150,000 becquerels per liter, a record high for a sample from the well and up more than 10 times the level a week before. The well is located close to the plant’s port on the Pacific. A Tepco spokesman said heavy rain caused by Typhoon Phanfone, which hit eastern Japan earlier in the week, likely affected groundwater at the plant. In a groundwater sample from the well on Thursday, radioactive materials that emit beta rays, such as strontium-90, also hit a record high of 1.2 million becquerels, according to the company. At another well east of the No. 2 reactor, a groundwater sample contained a record 2.1 million becquerels of a beta ray-emitting radioactive substance, nearly double the level a week earlier. The level of radioactive cesium in the sample rose 70 percent to 68,000 becquerels. Tepco periodically measures the concentration of radioactive materials in groundwater at 34 points east of the plant’s No. 1 to No. 4 reactors. Readings hit record highs at three points after rain caused by the typhoon, but the company said it does not know why. Tritium surges tenfold in groundwater at Fukushima nuclear plant; typhoon effect suspected
Posted on: Sun, 12 Oct 2014 06:56:02 +0000