Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc. (TEPCO), the operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant in Japan's northeast said last week a container holding radioactive waste at the site of the plant may have leaked, Japan's Asahi Shimbun reported Friday last week.
The TEPCO said some gel-like blocks with large amount of radiation were found last month at the site where the containers were kept, and the situation is under investigation, according to the newspaper.
The containers have been stacked in three layers, and the top container has become rusted and corroded, causing liquid accumulation, said the company.
The sides of the two lower containers have been contaminated with radioactive materials, and it is believed that the liquid leaking from the top container may have made its way to the ground through the containers below, according to the company.
The relevant containers have been moved to an indoor storage facility.
The concentration of radioactive materials that emit beta rays in the gel-like blocks was 230,000 becquerels per gram, according to the report.
South Korean fishermen and civic activists have conducted maritime rallies and litigation against Japan's decision to dump the contaminated wastewater from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean.
About 100 fishermen in the country's southeastern port city of Busan staged a rally Friday, saying the release of the radioactive water into the sea is a "grave criminal act" endangering South Korea's fishing industry and threatens the lives and health of people in neighboring countries.
