New radioactive leak into ocean

JAPAN: The operator of Japan's Fukushima nuclear power plant has reported a new water leak from a reactor vessel into the Pacific Ocean as the Asian country reels from the March 11 temblor. The Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) reported new problems on Thursday as the quake-hit country struggles to contain Japan's nuclear crisis, AFP reported.

TEPCO says new measurements taken this week indicate that water pumped into the pressure vessel had quickly leaked out from reactor one building. The company has also reported another spill of contaminated water despite its efforts to stop spills into the Pacific.

"The temperature of the pressure vessel was 100-120 degrees, which is considered to be the level where the fuel rods are being cooled down in a relatively stable manner," AFP quoted a TEPCO official as saying.

TEPCO spokesman Yoshinori Mori said the cause of the leakage is under investigation."Today we have continued to investigate the route of the leakage into sea and why it happened," he noted. TEPCO announced earlier in April that it would manage to reduce radiation leaks from the quake-hit Fukushima plant within three months and also to cool the reactors, and control the radiation within six to nine months.

On March 11, a destructive 9-magnitude earthquake and an ensuing tsunami struck Japan's northern coasts, setting off a nuclear crisis by knocking out power to cooling systems of reactors at the Fukushima plant and causing a radiation leak. Presstv