Tokyo Electric Power Co. on July 22 finally admitted that radioactive water is leaking from its stricken Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean. The admission came more than 50 days after the company detected a high concentration of tritium on May 31 in a ground water sample taken 25 meters from the sea. Tepco had long refused to admit such a leak although experts stressed the possibility.
Tepco's belated admission shows that it lacks the ability to prevent the leakage of radioactive substances into the environment and does not have a proper sense of its responsibility to protect the environment from radioactive contamination.
On June 19 a high concentration of radioactive strontium was detected again in the same groundwater. Although Tepco made its findings public, it said it did not think that the contaminated groundwater was flowing into the sea. On June 24, Tepco said a high concentration of tritium was found in seawater near the plant. On June 29, a high concentration of radioactive substances was detected in a well about four meters from the sea.