Date: 29-Mar-11
Country: JAPAN
Author: Yoko Nishikawa

Plutonium found in soil at the crippled Fukushima nuclear complex heightened alarm on Tuesday over Japan's protracted battle to contain the world's worst atomic crisis in 25 years.

Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) said the radioactive material -- a by-product of atomic reactions and also used in nuclear bombs -- had been found in soil in five places at the plant, hit by an earthquake and tsunami on March 11.

The drama at the six-reactor facility has compounded Japan's agony after the twin disaster left more than 28,000 people dead or missing in the devastated northeast.

"I apologize for making people worried," Sakae Muto, vice-president of under-pressure TEPCO, said at a briefing around midnight in Tokyo. Yet he stressed the traces of plutonium-238, 239 and 240 were not dangerous and work would not be stopped.

"It's not at the level that's harmful to human health."

Muto said the readings were similar to those found in the past in other parts of Japan due to particles in the atmosphere from nuclear testing abroad.

TEPCO said it was unclear where the plutonium was from, though it appeared two of the five finds were related to damage from the plant rather than from the atmosphere.

Experts believe that at least some of the plutonium may have come from spent fuel rods at Fukushima or damage to reactor No. 3, the only one to use plutonium in its fuel mix.

The United Nations' International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said the find was expected due to known fuel degradation.

CONTAINMENT BREACHED

Japan's own nuclear safety agency was concerned at the plutonium samples, whose levels of radioactive decay ranged from 0.18 to 0.54 becquerels per kg.

"While it's not the level harmful to human health, I am not optimistic. This means the containment mechanism is being breached so I think the situation is worrisome," agency official Hidehiko Nishiyama was quoted as saying by Jiji news agency.

The plutonium discovery, from samples taken a week ago, was the latest bad news from the Fukushima plant, where engineers are resigned to a struggle of weeks or possibly months to re-establish cooling systems vital to control of the reactors.

On Monday, TEPCO said highly radioactive water had been found in concrete tunnels that extend beyond one reactor.

Fires, blasts and leaks have forced engineers to stop work at times, including at the weekend when radiation spiked to 100,000 times above normal in water inside reactor No. 2.

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