Radiation fallout from the stricken Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant continues to remain high in some areas even though nearly six months have passed since explosions rocked the plant.
Radiation fallout from the stricken Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant continues to remain high in some areas even though nearly six months have passed since explosions rocked the plant.
A government team on Sept. 1 released the results of monitoring tests that were done between July 4 and Aug. 20.
Measurements were taken at 2,696 locations in the no-entry zone, lying within a 20-kilometer radius of the nuclear plant, and in the planned evacuation zone, lying beyond that radius to the northwest. The radiation levels were measured at heights of both 1 meter and 1 centimeter above ground.
In the no-entry zone, the highest level at the 1-meter height was 139 microsieverts per hour in the Ottozawa district of Okuma town, about 1 kilometer to the southwest of the nuclear plant.
The maximum level at the 1-cm height was 368 microsieverts per hour in Matsuzaku, a district in Futaba town, about 4 km to the west of the plant.
In the planned evacuation zone, the highest radiation level at the 1-meter height was 41.3 microsieverts per hour in Hirusone, a district in Namie town, about 22 km to the northwest.