The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Japan had a highly radioactive water leak on Thursday, but no damages or injuries were reported.
The leak was found during a valve check at a treatment machine used to extract cesium and strontium from contaminated water on Wednesday morning, according to the Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, which is now inactive until further maintenance.
About 6 tons of the radioactive water escaped through an air vent to an iron plate on the ground outside, then seeped into the soil and its surroundings. The leaked water did not spread outside of the compound, but its radioactive level exceeded the legal limit by 10 times, TEPCO said.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
The leaked water has been cleaned up, and the polluted soil is currently being removed, but it is still unclear when the machine started to leak, according to TEPCO spokesman Kenichi Takahara. No issues were reported in the initial inspection of the valve treatment machine the day before it leaked.
No increase in contamination on the plant has been reported since.
This leak comes a few months after four workers were spritzed with radioactive waste from an accidental leak at an Advanced Liquid Processing System facility nearby.
