Another radioactive water leak spotted at Fukushima plant

Another radioactive water leak has been confirmed at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant following a similar incident at the site a few days ago.

The crisis-stricken plant operator, Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO), said that 22 liters of radioactive water seeped into the soil on Thursday as workers were pumping out contaminated water from one of the troubled underground tanks.

TEPCO added that the leakage came from a junction of the piping.

On April 6, TEPCO said in a statement that 120 tons of contaminated water had leaked from a key tank in the Fukushima Daiichi plant, and may have contaminated the surrounding areas.

On March 11, 2011, Japan was hit by a 9.0-magnitude earthquake followed by a devastating tsunami that ravaged through the country’s northeastern coast.

The waves from the tsunami, which hit Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant 45 minutes after the quake, shut down the back-up generators. The early damage disabled the reactor’s cooling systems, leading to meltdowns, explosions and radiation leaks.

The Fukushima Daiichi plant has leaked radiation into air, soil and the Pacific Ocean ever since it was hit by the massive earthquake and tsunami.

Nuclear experts say it will take decades to prepare the necessary safety for the return of the thousands of residents who were forced to leave their homes since they were located within the 20-kilometer evacuation zone around the crippled plant.

The number of the dead and missing from Japan’s March 11, 2011 quake and tsunami stands at over 28,000, according to the Japanese National Police Agency.