Seabed radiation 100-1,000 times normal level off Fukushima plant

TOKYO, May 3 Kyodo - Radiation readings have risen to 100-1,000 times the normal level on the Pacific seabed near the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, the operator said Tuesday.
The high levels of radioactive materials were detected in samples collected Friday from the seabed at two points 20-30 meters deep in the first contamination probe of the seabed by Tokyo Electric Power Co., it said.
The seabed samples collected 3 kilometers from Minamisoma and 3 km from Naraha, both in Fukushima Prefecture, contained 98-190 becquerels of radioactive iodine per kilogram and 1,200-1,400 becquerels of radioactive cesium.
The normal readings for the materials can be up to several becquerels, the utility said.
TEPCO said it believes the radioactive substances may have fallen into the sea after being released into the air from the plant or may have been carried by contaminated water that seeped from the plant.
Meanwhile, the science ministry said it had not detected radioactive substances in samples collected Friday from the seabed at a depth of 117 meters at a point 10 km from a spot on the coast 50 km south of the Fukushima plant.