'Flood of Highly Radioactive Wastewater' Overwhelms Fukushima Crews
Latest crisis reveals intractable nature of nuclear cleanup
As the New York Times reports:
Groundwater is pouring into the plant's ravaged reactor buildings at a rate of almost 75 gallons a minute. It becomes highly contaminated there, before being pumped out to keep from swamping a critical cooling system. A small army of workers has struggled to contain the continuous flow of radioactive wastewater, relying on hulking gray and silver storage tanks sprawling over 42 acres of parking lots and lawns. The tanks hold the equivalent of 112 Olympic-size pools.
But even they are not enough to handle the tons of strontium-laced water at the plant -- a reflection of the scale of the 2011 disaster and, in critics' view, ad hoc decision making by the company that runs the plant and the regulators who oversee it. In a sign of the sheer size of the problem, the operator of the plant, Tokyo Electric Power Company, or Tepco, plans to chop down a small forest on its southern edge to make room for hundreds more tanks, a task that became more urgent when underground pits built to handle the overflow sprang leaks in recent weeks.
"The water keeps increasing every minute, no matter whether we eat, sleep or work," said Masayuki Ono, a general manager with Tepco who acts as a company spokesman. "It feels like we are constantly being chased, but we are doing our best to stay a step in front."
Throughout the month of April, more than two years after the earthquake and tsunami that spurred the initial disaster at Fukushima, those leaks of radioactive water, as well as power outages at the plant, became a regular occurance (see here and here).
Just last week, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) warned that the plant's owner TEPCO was failing in its duty to protect essential safety systems at the plant and warned that it could be more than 40 years until the crippled plant could properly be deemed "decommissioned."
At this point, given the TEPCO's track record and what's occurring at Fukushima now, that seems like an unlikely timeframe.
To that issue, the Times spoke with Tadashi Inoue, an expert on Japan's nuclear power industry, who said: "Tepco is clearly just hanging on day by day, with no time to think about tomorrow, much less next year."
_________________________________________________
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. The final deadline for our crucial Summer Campaign fundraising drive is just days away, and we’re falling short of our must-hit goal. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
As the New York Times reports:
Groundwater is pouring into the plant's ravaged reactor buildings at a rate of almost 75 gallons a minute. It becomes highly contaminated there, before being pumped out to keep from swamping a critical cooling system. A small army of workers has struggled to contain the continuous flow of radioactive wastewater, relying on hulking gray and silver storage tanks sprawling over 42 acres of parking lots and lawns. The tanks hold the equivalent of 112 Olympic-size pools.
But even they are not enough to handle the tons of strontium-laced water at the plant -- a reflection of the scale of the 2011 disaster and, in critics' view, ad hoc decision making by the company that runs the plant and the regulators who oversee it. In a sign of the sheer size of the problem, the operator of the plant, Tokyo Electric Power Company, or Tepco, plans to chop down a small forest on its southern edge to make room for hundreds more tanks, a task that became more urgent when underground pits built to handle the overflow sprang leaks in recent weeks.
"The water keeps increasing every minute, no matter whether we eat, sleep or work," said Masayuki Ono, a general manager with Tepco who acts as a company spokesman. "It feels like we are constantly being chased, but we are doing our best to stay a step in front."
Throughout the month of April, more than two years after the earthquake and tsunami that spurred the initial disaster at Fukushima, those leaks of radioactive water, as well as power outages at the plant, became a regular occurance (see here and here).
Just last week, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) warned that the plant's owner TEPCO was failing in its duty to protect essential safety systems at the plant and warned that it could be more than 40 years until the crippled plant could properly be deemed "decommissioned."
At this point, given the TEPCO's track record and what's occurring at Fukushima now, that seems like an unlikely timeframe.
To that issue, the Times spoke with Tadashi Inoue, an expert on Japan's nuclear power industry, who said: "Tepco is clearly just hanging on day by day, with no time to think about tomorrow, much less next year."
_________________________________________________
As the New York Times reports:
Groundwater is pouring into the plant's ravaged reactor buildings at a rate of almost 75 gallons a minute. It becomes highly contaminated there, before being pumped out to keep from swamping a critical cooling system. A small army of workers has struggled to contain the continuous flow of radioactive wastewater, relying on hulking gray and silver storage tanks sprawling over 42 acres of parking lots and lawns. The tanks hold the equivalent of 112 Olympic-size pools.
But even they are not enough to handle the tons of strontium-laced water at the plant -- a reflection of the scale of the 2011 disaster and, in critics' view, ad hoc decision making by the company that runs the plant and the regulators who oversee it. In a sign of the sheer size of the problem, the operator of the plant, Tokyo Electric Power Company, or Tepco, plans to chop down a small forest on its southern edge to make room for hundreds more tanks, a task that became more urgent when underground pits built to handle the overflow sprang leaks in recent weeks.
"The water keeps increasing every minute, no matter whether we eat, sleep or work," said Masayuki Ono, a general manager with Tepco who acts as a company spokesman. "It feels like we are constantly being chased, but we are doing our best to stay a step in front."
Throughout the month of April, more than two years after the earthquake and tsunami that spurred the initial disaster at Fukushima, those leaks of radioactive water, as well as power outages at the plant, became a regular occurance (see here and here).
Just last week, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) warned that the plant's owner TEPCO was failing in its duty to protect essential safety systems at the plant and warned that it could be more than 40 years until the crippled plant could properly be deemed "decommissioned."
At this point, given the TEPCO's track record and what's occurring at Fukushima now, that seems like an unlikely timeframe.
To that issue, the Times spoke with Tadashi Inoue, an expert on Japan's nuclear power industry, who said: "Tepco is clearly just hanging on day by day, with no time to think about tomorrow, much less next year."
_________________________________________________