Officials: plutonium found at Japan's nuke complex
By Associated Press
Mar 28, 2011 10:52 AM CDT
Evacuees from Fukushima Prefecture, northeastern Japan, where the troubled Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant is located, have a lunch at an evacuation center in Saitama, near Tokyo, Monday, March 28, 2011. The March 11 earthquake off Japan's northeast coast triggered a tsunami that barreled onshore...   (Associated Press)

Power company officials say plutonium has been detected in the soil outside of the stricken Japanese nuclear complex.

Tokyo Electric Power Co. says in a statement that the plutonium was discovered Monday in five locations around the plant, which has been leaking radiation for nearly two weeks.

TEPCO official Jun Tsuruoka says the amounts were very small and were not a risk to public health.

Experts had expected traces of plutonium to be detected once crews began searching for it this week, since it is present in the nuclear fuel in the troubled complex.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

TOKYO (AP) _ Power company officials say plutonium has been detected in the soil outside of the stricken Japanese nuclear complex.

Tokyo Electric Power Co. says in a statement that the plutonium was discovered Monday in five locations around the plant, which has been leaking radiation for nearly two weeks.

TEPCO official Jun Tsuruoka says the amounts were very small and were not a risk to public health.

Experts had expected traces of plutonium to be detected once crews began searching for it this week, since it is present in the nuclear fuel in the troubled complex.

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