TOKYO, March 29 (UPI) -- Water levels in at least one reactor at Japan's Fukushima nuclear plant are lower than estimated, putting it at risk of a new meltdown, the plant operator said.
The report, the result of an internal investigation by Tokyo Electric Power Co., was released this week, The New York Times said. The company found cooling water in the containment vessel at the No. 2 reactor was only 2 feet from the bottom, when it had been estimated at 33 feet (10 meters) in December, and that radiation levels inside the vessel are high enough to be lethal.
The Fukushima Daichii Nuclear Power Plant was heavily damaged by last year's earthquake and tsunami. There have been meltdowns in three of the six reactors, causing large radiation leaks, and explosions in three.
Two of the reactors could be in worse condition than No. 2, the newspaper said. The low water levels also suggest radioactive water could be leaking faster than believed.
The high radiation levels complicate work at the plant.
"With levels of radiation extremely high, we would need to develop equipment that can tolerate high radiation," Junichi Matsumoto, a TEPCO executive, said Tuesday.
Decommissioning the plant is expected to take several decades.
