Another Japan nuclear plant to dump radioactive water into sea

More radiation-tainted water could be dumped into the Pacific from a second Japanese nuclear plant, the government said on Wednesday.

Operator Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) was considering releasing the contaminated water from its Fukushima Daini plant, the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency said.

The plant was safely shut down even though it was hit by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami. But the tsunami brought in seawater, which became contaminated later on the compound.

The amount of the contaminated water at the plant is estimated at 3,000 tons. It contains radioactive substances such as manganese-54, cobalt-58 and cobalt-60 that are believed to stem from corroded pipes, Jiji Press reported.

Radioactive substances such as iodine and caesium have not been detected, Jiji said.

The operator reportedly hopes to dump the contaminated water in order to prevent it from corroding facilities at the plant.

The operator has already held unofficial talks with the agency, local municipalities and fishermen to discuss the matter, Jiji said.

TEPCO has not requested approval for the plan, Hidehiko Nishiyama, spokesman for the agency, said.

TEPCO also operates the Fukushima Daiichi plant, which has leaked radioactivity since it was crippled by the March disaster.

In early April, the operator dumped some 10,000 tons of wastewater containing radioactive substances about the 100 times the official limit into the Pacific to make room for more highly contaminated water that had been leaking into the sea.