Japan's nuclear body calls radioactive groundwater leakage at Fukushima 'emergency'

Japan's tsunami-crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant is facing yet another emergency as highly radioactive groundwater appears to have risen above an underground barrier meant to contain it.

The head of the country's Nuclear Regulatory Authority task force Shinji Kinjo told Reuters on Monday that the leak was an emergency, but he was worried the plant's operator, TEPCO, had no sense of how to deal with it.

He went on to say the highly radioactive groundwater is likely seeping into the sea.

In a recent news conference, TEPCO General manager Masayuki Ono said the situation was bleak.

"We understand that this discharge is beyond our control and we do not think the current situation is good."

To prevent further leaks, plant workers are injecting chemicals to create an underground barrier to block groundwater from leaking out to the ocean.

But experts say the barrier may not be enough as it needs certain conditions to solidify.

A retired nuclear engineer who worked on several TEPCO nuclear plants says the company is out of its depth.

"The situation is already beyond what TEPCO can handle. They are doing everything they can but there are no perfect solutions."

Some Japanese media outlets have predicted the contaminated water could breach the ground surface in the matter of just a few weeks.

Just last week, TEPCO estimated a cumulative 20 to 40 trillion becquerels of radioactive tritium may have leaked into the sea since the nuclear disaster some two-and-a-half years ago.

Kim Hyun-bin, Arirang New

Citizen Watches Ambassador Matt Kenseth Wins Daytona 500

Brierley Hill, West Midlands, United Kingdom (sardnews.org) 3/21/2012 12:00:00 AM - The Daytona 500: It has been described as one of the most fearsome races in motorsport, but for Citizen Watches Ambassador Matt Kenseth the course holds no fear, a fact proved by his recent win at the circuit.

A fan of watches alongside his racing driver credentials, Kenseth ran in a field of forty-three other drivers for the fifty-fourth running of the race. He climbed through the field from his grid position of four, outflanking the winner of last year’s race, Dale Earnhardt Jr. Kenseth’s Roush Fenway Racing teammate Greg Biffle finished in third place.

The victory of Kenseth was somewhat overshadowed by the conditions of the race itself. Originally scheduled to begin Sunday afternoon the race was delayed by more than a day due to high rainfall. Following a drying of the track, the race started in time for US primetime TV, but ended in the early morning hours of Tuesday whilst most of the casual fans were in bed. This denied the driver publicity that would have helped with his contract renewal negotiations with much needed sponsors such as the manufacturer of watches, Citizen.

Currently, Kenseth is without a main sponsor, but still has endorsement deals with the likes of Japanese manufacturer Citizen Watches. For this particular race, the car was decorated with decals for the US electronics retailer Best Buy. Partly sponsored by Citizen Watches in a long term deal, Kenseth previously won the Daytona 500 in 2009.

Besides the rain there were a number of other delays at the circuit including a freak accident when former Williams and McLaren F1 racer Juan Pablo Montoya crashed in to a jet drying system brought into improve the running surface.

The crash sparked a massive fuel fire that stopped the race for two hours as safety workers used laundry detergent to clean up the track.

The Daytona race marks the opening of the NASCAR stock car racing season. The season will continue with races at Phoenix and Las Vegas.