Japan: Crack in nuclear reactor leaking radioactive water directly into sea

In Setback, Radioactive Water Is Leaking Directly Into Sea, Japan Says

TOKYO — Highly radioactive water is leaking directly into the sea from a damaged pit near a crippled reactor at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, Japanese safety officials said Saturday, the latest setback in the increasingly difficult bid to regain control of the reactors.

In a handout photo from TEPCO, a worker points to a crack in the ground near Reactor No. 2 at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

Although higher than normal levels of radiation have been detected in the ocean water near the plant in recent days, the breach discovered Saturday is the first identified direct leak of such high levels of radiation into the sea.