Dangerously radioactive water has leaked from Japan’s crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station, after a partial meltdown in the latest failure of containment systems at the plant battered by an earthquake and tsunami.
Tokyo Electric Power, the plant’s operator, said on Monday that a network of underground maintenance tunnels connected to the four most damaged reactors had been flooded close to overflowing with the highly contaminated water.
Radiation readings in the tunnel closest to reactor No 2 were strong enough to prevent crews entering the area, stalling efforts to restore the unit’s electrical and fuel-cooling systems. Doses of 1,000 millisieverts per hour were detected in the water, Tepco and nuclear safety officials said.