Japan coast marine radioactive contamination 'worse than thought'

Tokyo - New data shows the melted-down and still-leaking Daiichi nuclear plant near Fukushima is causing radioactive contamination in seaweed 50 times above safe limits, contamination has spread over a large area and is not dispersing as officials have asserted.

The environmental group Greenpeace International has released a statement on its radiation monitoring work off Japan’s coast and notes new test results from labs in France and Belgium show radiation contamination is far greater than Japanese officials are acknowledging, stating

the situation in the ocean along the Fukushima coast is worse than we originally thought.

The group claims Japanese officials are “putting band-aids on each problem” as the problems appear. It also states there were some difficulties in finding a Japanese lab to do a detailed analysis of seaweed, fish and shellfish, so the samples were sent to France and Belgium. Greenpeace states results of the tests show contamination is accumulating in marine life,

rather than simply dispersing like the Japanese authorities originally claimed would happen.

The results confirm what some have suggested, with the group saying “serious concerns” have been raised over contaminated water continuously leaking from the disabled nuclear plant. Greenpeace is calling on the government to fully disclose all information on contamination being caused by the Daiichi facility, launch a comprehensive and ongoing marine environment analysis, and create protection and compensation programs for the people impacted by the disaster. The test results come after the Japanese operator at Daiichi, Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), has finally admitted three of the plant’s reactors suffered nuclear meltdowns within hours of the deadly tsunami which struck Japan’s northeast coast following the earthquake of March 11. Late this week TEPCO admitted up to 57 tons of highly contaminated radioactive water had leaked from a containment vessel into an underground trench, resulting in new concerns over contaminated groundwater and increased contamination in the ocean.