It’s been six years since a massive earthquake, followed by a 50-foot tsunami, slammed into Japan‘s northeast coast, resulting in one of the worst nuclear accidents in history.

But scientists have now discovered a ‘new and unanticipated’ source of radioactive waste left behind by the Fukushima disaster.

New research has pinpointed radioactive material from the power plant in sands and brackish water as far as 60 miles away, and found it’s slowly being released back into the ocean.

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While the radioactive waste discovered in the new study is not considered to be a health concern, the find highlights another unexpected consequence of a nuclear meltdown far from the site of the disaster itself.

In some cases, the levels in the groundwater were as much as 10 times higher than levels in the seawater in the harbour around Fukushima itself.

And, levels of the radioactive material more than 3 feet deep in the sand were higher than that in the sediments offshore.

In the study, the team collected samples from eight beaches within 60 miles of the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant between 2013 and 2016.

According to the researchers from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and Kanazawa University, the sands acted much like a sponge following the 2011 power plant failure, after high levels of radioactive cesium137 was carried along the coast by the ocean currents.

As the waves and tides brought the material onto the ground, it ‘stuck’ to the surfaces of the sand grains.

Over time, the radioactive cesium the sands retained is slowly leaching into the water.

‘No one is either exposed to, or drinks, these waters, and thus public health is not of primary concern here,’ the scientists said……..More Here