Strontium leaked into sea off Japan's Fukushima

Tokyo Electric Power Company says about 80 liters of water contaminated with radioactive strontium has leaked into the sea off the Japan's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. Workers found the leak in tanks at the plant site on Monday morning. The facilities store water after radioactive materials are removed, according to Japan's (NHK WORLD) website. The leakage stopped later when the workers turned the pumps off. But the firm estimates that 120 liters of water has seeped out through pipe connections, and 80 liters reached the ocean via a sewer system located below the pipes. TEPCO said it detected highly radioactive substances in the sea water around the overflow, emitting 0.25 becquerels per cubic centimeters of beta particles. It said a safety barrier is still under construction and was unable to stop the spill. The utility had a similar incident at the plant last December. After that, the Japanese government had declared a cold shutdown but since then, water has leaked many times.