Japan's nuclear regulator says a toxic water leak at the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant is more serious than first thought.
On August 21, the country's Nuclear Regulation Authority gave the leak a level three rating, classifying it as a "serious incident," up from its previous assessment as a level one "anomaly" rating.
The previous day, the plant's operator said some 300 tons of contaminated water with very high levels of radiation had leaked from a storage tank at Fukushima.
Analysts are calling it the most serious setback to date for the cleanup of the worst nuclear accident since Chornobyl.
Reactors at the Fukushima plant suffered meltdowns after it was hit by an earthquake and tsunami in March 2011.
On August 21, the country's Nuclear Regulation Authority gave the leak a level three rating, classifying it as a "serious incident," up from its previous assessment as a level one "anomaly" rating.
The previous day, the plant's operator said some 300 tons of contaminated water with very high levels of radiation had leaked from a storage tank at Fukushima.
Analysts are calling it the most serious setback to date for the cleanup of the worst nuclear accident since Chornobyl.
Reactors at the Fukushima plant suffered meltdowns after it was hit by an earthquake and tsunami in March 2011.