Radioactive water found seeping into sea in Japan

Tokyo/Fukushima, Apr 2 (PTI) Highly radioactive water was
found seeping into the sea from a crack in a containment pit
of the troubled Fukushima nuclear plant, as Japanese Premier
Naoto Kan promised full support to the tsunami-hit people of
the northeast in his first visit to the region.
The operator of the stricken nuclear complex said it has
discovered a 12-inch crack in a wall of the No.2 reactor at
the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant from where highly
radioactive water appears to be seeping into the sea, while
the IAEA termed the situation as "very serious".
Kan, who had earlier flown over the region after the
devastation struck, on Saturday inspected the tsunami-hit
northeast for the first time and also gave a pep talk to the
workers who are working overtime to minimise the damage caused
by the country's worst nuclear crisis.
Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) said water was
leaking from the crack in the wall of a 2-metre deep pit that
contains power cables near the water intake of the reactor,
and the level of radiation has been measured at over 1,000
millisieverts per hour, national broadcaster NHK reported.
TEPCO said it is preparing to pour concrete into the
cracked pit to stop the leak of radioactive water.
The radiation detected in water in the basement of the
turbine building at the No.2 reactor was about 100,000 times
the normal level.
The discovery, officials said, likely explains the rising
radiation levels in sea water near the plant.
"... we have been trying to confirm the reason why, and
in that context, this could be one source," said Hidehiko
Nishiyama, deputy head of the Nuclear and Industrial Safety
Agency.
The developments came as Kan visited an operation base in
Fukushima Prefecture to encourage Self-Defense Forces (SDF)
personnel and other workers, three weeks after the monster
magnitude-9 quake and tsunami struck the country's northeast
leaving nearly 30,000 people dead or unaccounted for.
"By all means, the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi
plant needs to be put under control with your collective
efforts," Kan told the workers, thanking them for their "hard
work" under "harsh conditions".
"We have to work hard until we reach a point where we can
say our country has overcome the quake and the tsunami
disaster," he was quoted as saying by Kyodo news agency.
Before visiting the base situated 20 km from the nuclear
plant, the Prime Minister flew into Rikuzentakata city in
Iwate Prefecture, which was devastated by the twin disaster,
on a military helicopter from Tokyo and met evacuees there.
"The government fully supports you until the end," he
told people gathered at an evacuation centre.
The International Atomic Energy Agency Director General
Yukiya Amano, meanwhile, warned of a prolonged battle against
the nuclear crisis in quake-hit Japan.