Highly radioactive water overflowed 12 barriers around storage tanks at the Fukushima nuclear plant, the operator said on Monday, Some of the contaminated water might have flowed into the Pacific Ocean from the tanks at the plant, Tokyo Electric Power Co said.
More than 100 millimeters of rain was recorded at the plant over four hours on Sunday afternoon, public broadcaster NHK said.
The overflows are the latest in a string of radiation-contaminated water problems at the plant.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe reiterated that the situation “is under control.” Tokyo Electric has built about 1,000 storage tanks to contain contaminated water from three reactors that suffered meltdowns after the complex was struck by the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami.
The operator has been battling with leaks from the tanks as it continues to inject water into the three reactors to keep them cool.
In late August, about 300 tons of radiation-contaminated water leaked from a storage tank, some of which could have reached the sea, the operator said.