TOKYO, May 5 (RIA Novosti) – Levels of radioactive contamination in forests surrounding Japan's crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant have dropped by half over the last two years, the NHK channel reported Monday.
According to local authorities, the average annual level of radiation in the forests after the disaster at the power plant amounted to 0.91 microsieverts per hour, while the latest measurements showed only 0.44 microsieverts per hour.
Fukushima prefecture authorities underlined that radioactive contamination could have a significant impact on the productivity of forest resources management as workers abandon their lots over fears of radiation.
The measurements were made at over 350 sites in Fukushima’s forestland. The level of radiation is expected to drop by an additional 30 percent in the next 20 years.
Last month, residents of some areas surrounding Fukushima started returning to their houses following a lift of an evacuation order and a drop in radiation levels.
In March 2011, Japan was hit by a massive magnitude 9.0 earthquake and subsequent tsunami, claiming more than 15,000 lives and causing a number of explosions at the Fukushima plant. In what has been dubbed the world's worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl, three of the plant’s reactors underwent a partial meltdown as radiation leaked into the atmosphere, soil and seawater. One of the main problems at the Fukushima now is the continuing leakage of radioactive water. Full liquidation of the disaster’s consequences would take approximately 40 years.
