Workers at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant face new threats to their health after radiation exceeding safety levels was found to have seeped into groundwater near the facility.
Japan's nuclear and industrial safety agency, Nisa, ordered the firm to review its latest radiation measurements taken from the air, seawater and groundwater, saying they seemed suspiciously high. Earlier on Friday Tepco reported that groundwater beneath one of the plant's six reactors contained levels of radioactive iodine 10,000 times higher than government standards.
"We have our suspicions about their isotope analysis," said Hidehiko Nishiyama, a Nisa spokesman. Tepco said that a computer software fault could be responsible for the high readings, but added that the data could turn out to be accurate.
Fukushima Nuclear Accident Update Log - International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)