A radioactive iodine level 1,250 times higher than normal has been measured in the sea water, a few hundred meters off the coast near the Fukushima nuclear power plant, in North-Eastern Japan, announced on Saturday the Japanese Agency for Nuclear Safety.
The agency said the tests had been conducted by the company that manages power plant, Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), in the water off the coast of reactor 1.
"If you drank 500 ml of water with this concentration of iodine, you would immediately reach the annual maximum limit that you can absorb. This is a relatively high level." said an agency spokesman.
He added that "the radioactivity released into the sea will dilute due to the tide, which in turn means that the concentration would have to be much higher for marine algae and animals to absorb", he added.
"In addition, the concentration of iodine is reducing itself by half every eight days, so that when people will eat these sea food products, the quantity will most likely be greatly reduced" he said.
Tuesday, the level of iodine 131 was 126 times higher than the legal limit set by the Government in the water tested in the Pacific Ocean at the exact same place, near Fukushima Daiichi plant. Therefore, radioactive iodine concentration increased approximately ten times in just a few days.
Public authorities have announced increased controls imposed on fish and seafood caught along the coast.
This nuclear power plant located 250 km North-East of Tokyo, was severely damaged by the earthquake followed by a tsunami on March 11. Cooling systems at four of the reactors have been shut down since then, resulting in numerous incidents and emissions of radioactive particles.
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