Radiation levels near Fukushima reactor hit two-year high
福岛核电站附近辐射水平达两年最高

Radiation levels in seawater just outside one of the damaged Fukushima reactors spiked this week to the highest level in two years. That’s according to the operator of the crippled Japanese nuclear plant Tokyo Electric Power Corporation.

Radiation levels on Wednesday jumped 13 times the previous day’s reading, the highest levels since late 2011. That came after a worker on Wednesday mistakenly detached a pipe connected to a treatment system. That released seven tons of highly radioactive water and exposed six workers to it.

The accident is adding to the crisis and stirring doubt over Tepco’s abilities to carry out a complex cleanup widely expected to take decades. Japan’s Nuclear Regulation Authority last week ordered Tepco to draft in additional workers and report within a week on its measures to tackle the hazardous clean-up.