Japan's radiation 20,000 times limit

PressTV - Japan's radiation 20,000 times limit

The leaked contaminated water contained approximately 5,000 terabecquerels of radioactive substances, which is 20,000 times the annual allowable limit for the plant, Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) said on Thursday.

TEPCO added that 520 tons of radioactive water had leaked from reactors at the Fukushima plant, which was severely damaged during the 9.0-magnitude quake and the ensuing tsunami on March 11.

The twin disasters in Japan's northern coast set off a nuclear crisis by knocking out power to cooling systems of reactors at the plant, and caused radiation leaks.

The government ordered the evacuation of people living in a 20-kilometer (12.4-mile) radius around the plant and told people residing between 20 kilometers and 30 kilometers (18.6 miles) from the plant to remain indoors.

Earlier this month, Prime Minister Naoto Kan's special advisor Goshi Hosono said bringing the crisis-hit Fukushima power plant under control may take “several months.”