Record cesium level detected in fish caught near Fukushima plant

Tokyo Electric Power Co. said Friday it detected a record 740,000 becquerels per kilogram of radioactive cesium in a fish caught in waters near the crippled Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, equivalent to 7,400 times the state-set limit deemed safe for human consumption.

The greenling measuring 38 centimeters in length and weighing 564 grams was caught near a water intake of the four reactor units in the power station's port on Feb. 21 during the utility's operation to remove fish from the port.

TEPCO has installed a net on the sea floor of the port exit in Fukushima Prefecture to make it hard for fish living near the sediments of contaminated soil to go elsewhere.