Radiation hotspot in Tokyo after Fukushima accident
Elevated levels of radiation have been detected in a residential area of Tokyo, say Japanese officials.
The hotspot in Setagaya ward is more than 200km (124 miles) from the Fukushima nuclear plant, which was damaged by a tsunami in March.
Concern remains high over the possible effect of drifting radiation.
The reading of 3.35 microsieverts per hour was higher than some areas in the Fukushima evacuation zone but officials said there was no threat to health.
The radiation was detected on a pavement in Setagaya at a height of about one metre, after a concerned resident alerted the authorities.
The route is regularly used by school children, said the Kyodo news agency. Other areas of the pavement were unaffected.
The area was cordoned off as a precaution, but officials said there was no threat to health.
A person who stayed by the spot for eight hours a day for one year would receive a dose of about 17 millisieverts, said Kyodo - the government-set allowable limit is 20 millisieverts a year.
“The readings were found in a very small area and we will take measures to resolve residents’ concerns,” a spokesman for the ward, Michio Hirasawa, told Bloomberg…