Levels of radioactive iodine in water at reactor No. 2 of Japan’s quake-hit Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant are 10 million times above the normal levels, the Kyodo news agency reported on Sunday.
Japan’s Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency said the high concentration of radioactive iodine-131 in water at the nuclear power plant’s second reactor could be explained by leaks from the reactor’s active zone.
All works at the reactor have been halted and the evacuation of workers is currently underway.
Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) denied on Saturday earlier reports that the radiation level at Fukushima’s first reactor was 200,000 millisieverts per hour, adding that it did not exceed 60,000 millisieverts per hour.
The 9.0-magintude earthquake and tsunami that rocked Japan on March 11 triggered a number of explosions at the Fukushima nuclear power plant, spreading fears of massive radioactive contamination.
The confirmed death toll from the earthquake and tsunami stands at more than 10,000, according to police, and over 17,440 are listed as missing.
MOSCOW, March 27 (RIA Novosti)