Nuclear Meltdown

Japan nuke operator suspects new radioactive leak

(Agencies)
Updated: 2011-05-11 16:49

TOKYO - The operator of Japan's tsunami-crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear station said on Wednesday it may have found a new leak of radioactive water into the ocean from the plant, this time from the No 3 reactor.

Special Coverage:  Japan Nuke Crisis

Operator Tokyo Electric Power (TEPCO) had previously experienced a similar leak at the No 2 reactor, which it managed to seal with substances including liquid glass.

A TEPCO spokesman told reporters that a worker had found water coming into one of the pits of the No 3 reactor by the ocean. The spokesman said the utility could not confirm whether water was actually leaking into the sea nearby and was conducting tests.

Since the March 11 earthquake, TEPCO has had to pour water on the reactors to cool them but it also needs to find room to store the contaminated water, some of which has seeped into the ocean.