TOKYO (Kyodo) — High levels of radioactive cesium were found in an independent study in a Fukushima city district, prompting a citizens group and others involved to urge the government on Wednesday to promptly designate the area as one of the contamination hot spots for possible evacuation and ensure proper decontamination.
Up to 307,000 becquerels of cesium per kilogram of soil was detected in the Sept. 14 survey, triple that of the benchmark above which the government requires tainted mud to be sealed by concrete. The contamination is believed to have been caused by radiation leaked by the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant crippled in the March 11 earthquake and tsunami disaster.
The readings are comparable to the high levels in special regulated zones where evacuation was required after the 1986 Chernobyl accident, said the citizens group, Citizens Against Fukushima Aging Nuclear Power Plants.
23 
244
