Radiation levels in Japan cause great concern

By Jay Alabaster (AP)

It has been over two weeks since the coast of Japan was hit by a tsunami caused by a 9.0 earthquake, and sophomore Cathy Suzuki still feels shocked by what happened to her country.

Suzuki was born in the U.S., but at the age of nine she moved to Japan with her family. Her parents live far enough away from where the tsunami hit that they aren't in danger, but some of her friends live closer to potentially dangerous levels of radiation. She may not even be able to return home in the winter.

"I was calling my friends and family everyday just to make sure they were OK," she said, "I hope that they'll al be safe."

Workers discovered new pools of radioactive water leaking from Japan's crippled nuclear complex, officials said Monday, as emergency crews struggled to pump out hundreds of tons of contaminated water and bring the plant back under control.

The Fukushima Dai-ichi power plant, 140 miles northeast of Tokyo, was crippled March 11 when a tsunami spawned by a powerful earthquake slammed into Japan's northeastern coast.

Since then, three of the complex's six units are believed to have partially melted down, and emergency crews have struggled with everything from malfunctioning pumps to dangerous spikes in radiation that have forced temporary evacuations.

Confusion at the plant has intensified fears that the nuclear crisis will last weeks, months or years amid alarms over radiation making its way into produce, raw milk and even tap water as far away as Tokyo.

The troubles at the Fukushima complex have eclipsed Pennsylvania's 1979 crisis at Three Mile Island, when a partial meltdown raised fears of widespread radiation release, but is still well short of the 1986 Chernobyl disaster, which killed at least 31 people with radiation sickness, raised long-term cancer rates, and spewed radiation for hundreds of miles.

While parts of the Japanese plant has been reconnected to the power grid, the contaminated water — which has now been found in numerous places around the complex, including the basements of several buildings — must be pumped out before electricity can be restored to the cooling system.

That has left officials struggling with two sometimes-contradictory efforts: pumping in water to keep the fuel rods cool and pumping out — and then safely storing — contaminated water.

Hidehiko Nishiyama, a spokesman for Japan's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency, called that balance "very delicate work."

"We are exploring all means," he said.

Early Monday, a strong earthquake shook the northeastern coast and prompted a brief tsunami alert. The quake was measured at magnitude 6.5, the Japan Meteorological Agency said. No damage or injuries were reported.

Scores of earthquakes have rattled the country over the past two weeks, adding to the sense of unease across Japan, where the final death toll is expected to top 18,000 people, with hundreds of thousands still homeless.

Officials said Sunday that radiation in leaking water was 10 million times above normal — a report that sent employees fleeing. But the day ended with officials saying that figure had been miscalculated and the level was actually 100,000 times above normal, far better than the earlier results.

"This sort of mistake is not something that can be forgiven," Edano said sternly Monday.

Associated Press writers Tomoko A. Hosaka, Mayumi Saito, Mari Yamaguchi, Jeff Don, and The Santa Clara writer Matt Rupel contributed to this report