SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
A picture taken by Japan's Nuclear Regulation Authority on August 23, 2013 shows nuclear watchdog members inspecting contaminated water tanks at the Fukushima plant.
Japan's Plan for Radioactive Waste Water: Into the Ocean
"I'm afraid that it is unavoidable to dump or release the water into the sea," confessed Nuclear Regulatory Authority head
Sep 02, 2013
Spreading radiation and suspected new leaks are plaguing the ongoing disaster site of the Fukushima nuclear power plant on Monday, while the head of Japan's nuclear regulatory body warned that there may be no other option than to dump radioactive waste water into the Pacific.
The new warnings come after a weekend in which plant operator TEPCO revealed that the radiation levels around the plant were 18 times higher than it previously reported, and that it had patched a leaking pipe with plastic tape.
In July, TEPCO admitted that contaminated groundwater was leaking into the ocean, up to 300 tonnes a day, and may have been doing so ever since the disaster began in March 2011. Apart from that leaking water, as Reuters reports,
Tepco has been pumping water into the reactors to keep the damaged cores and stored fuel from overheating. But that emergency step has created a secondary crisis of how to manage the contaminated water that is pumped back out.
"I'm afraid that it is unavoidable to dump or release the water into the sea," Shunichi Tanaka, head of Japan's Nuclear Regulation Authority, said on Monday.
"If we decide to discharge water into the ocean, we will use various methods to ensure that radiation is below accepted levels," Tanaka told reporters in Tokyo. "We will have to dispose of it eventually, but we are committed to reducing or removing radioactive materials."
Also on Monday, the Japan Times reported on further evidence that the storage tanks used to hold contaminated water are prone to leaks.
An unnamed worker who built storage tanks in the H4 area two years ago warned late last month that the storage tanks were hastily built. "We were told to put priority on making the tanks, rather than quality control. There were fears that toxic water may leak."
Though the worker said that they didn't "cut any corners constructing the tanks," he warned, "All of the tanks are makeshift. So more toxic water may leak as they deteriorate."
_________________________
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. 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 |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Spreading radiation and suspected new leaks are plaguing the ongoing disaster site of the Fukushima nuclear power plant on Monday, while the head of Japan's nuclear regulatory body warned that there may be no other option than to dump radioactive waste water into the Pacific.
The new warnings come after a weekend in which plant operator TEPCO revealed that the radiation levels around the plant were 18 times higher than it previously reported, and that it had patched a leaking pipe with plastic tape.
In July, TEPCO admitted that contaminated groundwater was leaking into the ocean, up to 300 tonnes a day, and may have been doing so ever since the disaster began in March 2011. Apart from that leaking water, as Reuters reports,
Tepco has been pumping water into the reactors to keep the damaged cores and stored fuel from overheating. But that emergency step has created a secondary crisis of how to manage the contaminated water that is pumped back out.
"I'm afraid that it is unavoidable to dump or release the water into the sea," Shunichi Tanaka, head of Japan's Nuclear Regulation Authority, said on Monday.
"If we decide to discharge water into the ocean, we will use various methods to ensure that radiation is below accepted levels," Tanaka told reporters in Tokyo. "We will have to dispose of it eventually, but we are committed to reducing or removing radioactive materials."
Also on Monday, the Japan Times reported on further evidence that the storage tanks used to hold contaminated water are prone to leaks.
An unnamed worker who built storage tanks in the H4 area two years ago warned late last month that the storage tanks were hastily built. "We were told to put priority on making the tanks, rather than quality control. There were fears that toxic water may leak."
Though the worker said that they didn't "cut any corners constructing the tanks," he warned, "All of the tanks are makeshift. So more toxic water may leak as they deteriorate."
_________________________
Spreading radiation and suspected new leaks are plaguing the ongoing disaster site of the Fukushima nuclear power plant on Monday, while the head of Japan's nuclear regulatory body warned that there may be no other option than to dump radioactive waste water into the Pacific.
The new warnings come after a weekend in which plant operator TEPCO revealed that the radiation levels around the plant were 18 times higher than it previously reported, and that it had patched a leaking pipe with plastic tape.
In July, TEPCO admitted that contaminated groundwater was leaking into the ocean, up to 300 tonnes a day, and may have been doing so ever since the disaster began in March 2011. Apart from that leaking water, as Reuters reports,
Tepco has been pumping water into the reactors to keep the damaged cores and stored fuel from overheating. But that emergency step has created a secondary crisis of how to manage the contaminated water that is pumped back out.
"I'm afraid that it is unavoidable to dump or release the water into the sea," Shunichi Tanaka, head of Japan's Nuclear Regulation Authority, said on Monday.
"If we decide to discharge water into the ocean, we will use various methods to ensure that radiation is below accepted levels," Tanaka told reporters in Tokyo. "We will have to dispose of it eventually, but we are committed to reducing or removing radioactive materials."
Also on Monday, the Japan Times reported on further evidence that the storage tanks used to hold contaminated water are prone to leaks.
An unnamed worker who built storage tanks in the H4 area two years ago warned late last month that the storage tanks were hastily built. "We were told to put priority on making the tanks, rather than quality control. There were fears that toxic water may leak."
Though the worker said that they didn't "cut any corners constructing the tanks," he warned, "All of the tanks are makeshift. So more toxic water may leak as they deteriorate."
_________________________
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.