The Fukushima has been subject to a number of severe radioactive leaks this year

Heavy rain has caused further radioactive leaks at Fukushima, it has been reported.

The findings came as a team of experts from the UN’s nuclear watchdog ended their review of Japan’s progress in cleaning up after the tsunami-sparked meltdowns of March 2011 created the worst atomic disaster in a generation.

The leak is the latest in a long line of setbacks at the site and further undermines agreements between operator Tokyo Electric Power (TEPCO) and the government, which limit the level of radioactive contamination in water that goes outside the plant.

TEPCO has poured thousands of tonnes of water onto badly-damaged reactors at Fukushima to keep them cool and prevent repeat meltdowns.
This huge volume of water must be stored in large tanks until it is cleared of the radioactive substances that it picks up in the cooling process.

But rain has made the problems worse due to the polluted surfaces which then become contaminated.

Meteorologists say a typhoon that is likely to bring further heavy rain is churning its way slowly towards Japan. Forecasters expect it will hit later in the week.

In August, we reported that around 300 tonnes of highly radioactive water had leaked from a storage tank on the site and the chairman of Japan’s nuclear authority said that he feared there would be further leaks.

Most of the tanks designed to hold the water are 85 per cent over their capacity, while there are over 400 tonnes of water being added every day.

In the UK, energy Secretary Ed Davey has defended building the UK’s first nuclear station.

The utility and power company EDF will lead a consortium to build the Hinkley Point C plant in Somerset.

Over £16 billion is to be spent on the nuclear power plant as part of the deal between EDF and Britain.

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