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’Japan stops radioactive leak into sea’

06 April 2011 03:58 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. Japanese engineers have reportedly succeeded in stopping the leakage of radioactive substances into the seawater as they struggle to control the nuclear crisis, APA reports quoting Press TV.

Tokyo Electrical Power Co. (TEPCO), the operator of the crisis-hit Fukushima nuclear plant, said on Wednesday they have stopped the leak by injecting "water glass" which filled the crack on the pit in reactor number 2, AFP reported.

Meanwhile, TEPCO announced that the radioactive level in seawater has reached 7.5 million times the legal limit.

On Monday, TEPCO said they had no other choice but to release water with low radioactive contamination, used to cool down the plant’s damaged reactors, into the Pacific Ocean. However, they said it does not pose any threat to human health.

After seeking help from the US and France, Japan has now asked Russia to send Suzuran, one of the world’s largest liquid radioactive waste treatment plants, to tackle the problem.

Several Asian countries have banned the import of foods produced near the power plant due to high levels of radioactive iodine-131 found in regional vegetables and milk products.

The 9.0-magnitude earthquake and the resulting tsunami which struck northeast Japan disabled the generator supplying power to Fukushima nuclear plant’s cooling system, causing hazardous radiation due to overheating.

The disaster has left over 12,000 people dead and nearly 15,500 others still remain unaccounted for.