Fukushima radiation levels rise to new record high in drainage ditch

Tokyo Electric Power Co said sandbags were placed downstream to save radioactive substances from reaching the ocean, but rainwater may have caused the water in the ditch to overflow

Japan's Tokyo Electric Power Co. (Tepco) has reported a new record rise in radiation levels in water collected from a drainage ditch at the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant.

Tepco detected 140,000 becquerels per liter of beta ray-emitting substances, including strontium, from a water sample collected on Wednesday from the ditch, which extends to the sea beyond the plant's port, the Japan Times reports.

The level of becquerels was 11 times higher than the previous day's reading and 2.3 times higher than 59,000 becquerels detected in water sampled at the same location on Tuesday, the report added.

Tepco said sandbags were placed downstream to save radioactive substances from reaching the ocean, but rainwater may have caused the water in the ditch to overflow them and carry toxic materials in surrounding areas into the drainage ditch.

According to the report, the measurement location is about 600 meters from the open ocean and close to the storage tank that leaked some 300 tons of radioactive water in August.

According to the report, Tepco started transferring radioactive water from inside the tanks' flood enclosures to a covered reservoir, amid forecasts of heavy rains expected from fresh typhoons approaching Japan.