Dangerous Radioactive Isotopes Found in Fukushima Groundwater
Wednesday, June 19th, 2013June 19, 2013
Dangerously high levels of toxic radioactive isotopes have been found in groundwater at Japan’s Fukushima nuclear plant, according to the Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco) that operates the utility. Tests have shown that strontium 90 is present at 30 times the legal limit and that the radioactive isotope tritium is at 8 times an acceptable level. Tepco officials informed the Japanese media that levels of strontium in groundwater at the Fukushima plant had increased 100-fold since the end of last year.
Three of six nuclear reactors at Fukushima went into full meltdown after a massive earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011, crippled the plant’s cooling system. More recently, Fukushima has undergone a series of water leaks and power failures. Radioactive water was found leaking from a storage tank earlier this month. Scientists note that the detection of increasing levels of highly radioactive strontium 90 indicates that Tepco has yet to fully contain the Fukushima reactors.
At the current levels found in the groundwater at Fukushima, strontium 90 has a half-life of 29 years. In humans, this means that the element will continue to irradiate them for years to come. It concentrates in human bone, where it is believed to cause cancer. Tritium, once used on glow-in-the-dark watch and clock faces, is also known to cause cancer.
Additional World Book articles:
- Alkaline earth metal
- Earthquake
- Nuclear energy
- Tsunami
- Japan 2011 (a Back in Time article)
- Reconsidering Nuclear Power (a special report)