Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2011

No-go area: A road near a supermarket in Setagaya Ward, Tokyo, is sealed off Tuesday before being decontaminated after a bottle believed to contain radium was found nearby. KYODO

A bottle believed to have contained radium was found beneath the ground near a supermarket in Setagaya Ward, Tokyo, on Tuesday in the second such discovery since high levels of radiation were detected in the area last month, officials said.

A Setagaya official said the substance inside the bottle was highly likely to be radium-226. The bottle was found buried in soil at a spot where the radiation reading reached 170 microsieverts per hour.

Radium-226 has been used for medical procedures.

The bottle's radiation level measured several millisieverts, and radiation levels in the nearby area dropped after it was removed, according to officials of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology.

Earlier this month another bottle also believed to have contained radium was dug out of the ground at the entrance of a supermarket where up to 110 microsieverts of radiation per hour had been registered.

The Central Union of Agricultural Cooperatives in Tokyo has leased the supermarket land to its operator since 1999 after buying it from a school operator in 1973. Both the union and the store operator said they have no idea how the bottle got there.

Tepco gets payout cash

Tokyo Electric Power Co. said Tuesday it has received ¥558.7 billion from a government-backed funding entity to cover compensation payments through the end of this year to people affected by the Fukushima nuclear disaster.

Tepco is expected to continue to pay massive compensation without falling into negative net worth by receiving funds from the Nuclear Damage Liability Facilitation Fund.

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