Russian Scientists Take Water Samples from Near Fukushima Nuclear Plant

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RIA Novosti, PUBLISHED 05.10.2014

Russian scientists from the research vessel Professor Khlyustin, studying the consequences of the Fukushima disaster, have taken samples of water not far from the territorial waters of Japan, the Khlopin Radium Institute, a subsidiary of the Russian state corporation Rosatom said in a message released on Friday.

"Five samples have been taken from the waters to the east of the wrecked nuclear power plant, for measuring the volumetric activity of caesium, strontium and tritium radioisotopes," the message read, adding that a sample for testing plutonium levels has also been taken.

According to the document, the water samples are to be tested for radioactive isotopes at the Khlopin Radium Institute laboratories in St. Petersburg. Air samples already tested, however, show that the caesium-137 levels do not exceed background radiation levels, and that caesium-134 cannot be traced.

"If the weather or other unforeseen circumstances do not intervene, the works should be completed on October 5 and the vessel will travel north toward the Kuril Islands and Kamchatka," the Institute said adding that currently the Professor Khlyustin is 380 nautical miles east of Tokyo.

On September 25, the Russian research vessel Professor Khlyustin left Vladivostok for the Sea of Japan and the Kuril Islands to evaluate the consequences of the March 2011 Fukushima-1 nuclear disaster.

The expedition is being conducted under the auspices of the Russian Geographical Society. Specialists from the Russian Defense Ministry, Russian Federal Service for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring (Rosgidromet), Russian consumer rights watchdog Rospotrebnadzor and Georgy Nevelsky Maritime State University are among the participants.

Topics: NPP Fukushima Daiichi, Russia

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