(N.Morgan) The clean up crews who are trying to mitigate Fukushima’s never ending radiation leaks have run into more problems after sensors monitoring a drainage gutter detected a huge spike in radiation levels from waste water pouring into the Pacific Ocean. TEPCO says radiation levels have spiked up to 70 times, or 7,000 percent, higher than normal, prompting an immediate shutdown of the drainage instrument.

The first readings came around 10 a.m. local time on February 22, setting off alarms not once but twice as radiation levels spiked to extremely high levels.

TEPCO stated: ”The levels of beta ray-emitting substances, such as strontium-90, measured 5,050 to 7,230 becquerels per liter of water between 10:20 a.m. and 10:50 a.m.,” reported The Japan Times. “TEPCO requires radioactivity levels of groundwater at the plant discharged into the sea to remain below 5 becquerels.”

TEPCO shut off leaky gutter, but radiation continued to spike throughout day

The gutter was quickly decommissioned to prevent further radiation emissions, but the leaks reportedly continued throughout the day, with radiation levels hovering between 10 and 20 times higher than normal. TEPCO says it doesn’t know what caused the sudden radiation spikes.

“With emergency surveys of the plant and monitoring of other sensors, we have no reason to believe tanks storing radioactive waste water have leaked,” stated a plant official to the media. “We have shut the gutter [from pouring water to the bay]. We are currently monitoring the sensors at the gutter and seeing the trend.”

The Japan News reports that large storage tanks capable of holding up to 2,900 tons of contaminated water are constantly being built at the site, up to one new tank daily, in fact. At some point, though, other migratory measures will have to be implemented, as there’s only so much space available to build more tanks.

According to The Ecologist, the Reactor 3 fuel storage pond also still contains upwards of 89 metric tons of plutonium-based, mixed-oxide fuel that, should the pond leak or dry up, could result in another major reactor meltdown. Reactor 3, as you may recall, experienced a full meltdown back in 2011 that resulted in the reactor core falling through the floor to the bottom of the containment vessel.

The chart at the following link, which was put together just days after the tsunami and earthquake hit Fukushima, provides a visual breakdown of radiation exposures from various sources. It can be used to quantify the threat associated with each respective leak: Blog.XKCD.com.

Sources:

http://www.abc.net.au

http://gizmodo.com

http://news.yahoo.com

http://gizmodo.com

http://www.naturalnews.com

http://the-japan-news.com

http://blog.xkcd.com

http://www.theecologist.org

http://www.naturalnews.com/048772_Fukushima_radiation_ocean_contamination.html

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