Beijing: Waters of the western Pacific,
close to Japan's tsunami-hit nuclear plant, are "clearly
affected" by the radioactive materials leaked from the
crippled Fukushima facility, tests by China's state agency
have found.
China's State Oceanic Administration, which conducted
the studies in the area, said today that waters in the western
Pacific region, close to the east and southeast of the
Fukushima nuclear power plant are found to have radioactive
material in excess of normal quantities.
Initial tests of samples collected from these areas
show that radioactive Cesium-137 and -134, as well as
Strontium-90 can be found in all water samples, it said in a
statement.
Under normal conditions, Cesium-134 cannot be detected
in sea waters, but the maximum amounts of Cesium-137 and
Strontium-90 detected in the samples are 300 times and 10
times, respectively, of the amounts of natural background
radiation in China's territorial waters, it said.
However, the amount of radioactive materials in air
samples tested as normal.
The administration has sent professional personnel to
these waters to monitor the impact of the crisis at the
Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, as well as to China's
territorial waters.
The 18-day voyage, which ended on July 4, monitored
waters of 25.2 square kilometers stretch, and the monitoring
team collected air, water and biological samples from the spot
areas, the statement said.
The administration will continue to publish results of
further testing and evaluations of the samples, the statement
said.
The Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Japan was
crippled by a 9.0-magnitude earthquake and ensuing tsunami on
March 11.
PTI
First Published: Sunday, July 31, 2011, 20:03