AP: Radiation contamination detected 400 miles from Fukushima coast — Levels up to 1,000 times above normal

Radioactive contamination from the Fukushima power plant disaster has been detected as far as almost 400 miles off Japan in the Pacific Ocean, with water showing readings of up to 1,000 times more than prior levels, scientists reported Tuesday.

“We’re not over the hump” yet in terms of radioactive contamination of the ocean because of continued leakage from the plant, [Ken Buesseler of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts] said in an interview before Tuesday’s talk. [...]

The ship sampled water from about 20 miles to about 400 miles off the coast east of the Fukushima plant. Concentrations of cesium-137 throughout that range were 10 to 1,000 times normal [...]

The highest readings last June were not always from locations closest to the Fukushima plant, Buesseler said. That’s because swirling ocean currents formed concentrations [...]

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