High levels of radiation, including a rate of 470 millisieverts per year at one location, have been detected in municipalities near the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, according to an interim Environment Ministry report.

A survey conducted from Nov. 7 to Jan. 16 showed that the readings topped 50 millisieverts on an annual basis — a level deemed uninhabitable under a proposed new classification — in many spots north-northwest of the crippled power station.

The highest level of 470 millisieverts was logged northwest of the plant at a spot in Futaba, Fukushima Prefecture, while the lowest level of 5.8 millisieverts was detected in another part of the same town, the ministry said.