Leaks, elevated radiation plague Fukushima nuclear plant

TOKYO Japan's top nuclear regulator raised safety concerns Monday about hastily built storage tanks and their foundations after signs of more leaks of radiation-contaminated water at the Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear power plant.

The latest leak was found over the weekend at a connecting pipe. The plant's operator, Tokyo Electric Power Co. said it suspects there may also have been leaks from three storage tanks, because high radioactivity was detected near them. The levels were not considered deadly.

Nuclear Regulation Authority Chairman Shunichi Tanaka told a Tokyo news conference that the small leak and possible other leaks have added to concerns about the plant's stability.

They follow a major leak two weeks ago. TEPCO reported a loss of 300 tons of radiation-contaminated water from a steel tank on Aug. 19, saying most of it is believed to have seeped underground but some might have escaped into the sea. The company has yet to determine the cause or exactly where the water went.

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The massive leak of water used to cool the plant's three melted reactor cores triggered fears of similar leaks from more than 300 other similar tanks. The tanks are part of approximately 1,000 tanks holding 330,000 tons of contaminated water at the plant, where the radioactive waste water from the reactors grows by 400 tons daily.

The latest leaks have triggered further concerns about the plant's ability to manage the contaminated water. Experts have said that radiation-contaminated water leaking from underground and utility tunnels connected to reactors and turbine buildings has been leaking into the sea for some time.

CBS News correspondent Seth Doane reported that, two years on, the area surrounding Fukushima remains a radiological ghost town, with 275 people still living in temporary housing. There were around 11,500 people in Okuma, a town just two miles from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, who fled when a cloud of radiation engulfed the area. TEPCO is still paying 6,300 people to work on scraping away the contaminated soil, but the area is far from clear.

Earlier this week, Japan's industry minister, Toshimitsu Motegi, said the government will take over cleanup efforts and allocate funding for long-term contaminated water management projects.

Regulation Authority Chairman Tanaka said he believed the discoveries of the subsequent leak and signs of possible leaks were the result of closer inspections after the leak two weeks ago. That leak was the worst from a tank at the plant, where three reactors melted down following the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami.

Tanaka raised concerns about the safety of the foundations of the tank sites. TEPCO recently revealed that one of the tank sites had partially sunk during a test to see if the tank was watertight.

"Because those tanks were built in an emergency situation, it is questionable whether sufficient ground surveys were conducted," Tanaka said. "We believe experienced companies did a fine job, but we still have concerns and we must step up our watch for leaks."

TEPCO said the minor leak found Saturday had stopped after workers tightened bolts on the seam of a connecting pipe. Radioactive water inside the suspected tanks was to be moved to nearby tanks as a precaution.

The investigation into the tanks has revealed TEPCO's sloppy record keeping and tank management. TEPCO acknowledged it used to assign only two workers to visually inspect all 1,000 tanks in two hours until the leak, and none of the tanks had water gauges. TEPCO has increased the patrol staff to nearly 60 and is adding other early detection measures.

TEPCO also said they have overlooked signs of leaks — radioactivity increase and workers' exposure levels for over a month.