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
In First, TEPCO Dumps Fukushima Groundwater Into Pacific Ocean
Local fishermen worry the discharge even of the groundwater will heighten contamination concerns and hurt their already battered reputation
Sep 15, 2015
Despite the objections of environmentalists and after overcoming local opposition from fishermen, the Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) pumped more than 850 tons of groundwater from below the Fukushima nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean on Monday.
More than four years after a tsunami destroyed the plant and triggered a meltdown, the cleanup effort remains frought with numerous difficulties, including the nearly impossible task of dealing with the millions of gallons of contaminated and radioactive water--both treated and untreated--that have accumulated in thousands of tanks constructed in the shadow of the destroyed power station. On a daily basis, approximately 300 tons of groundwater are pumped to the surface to undergo treatment before being placed into storage.
According to Asahi Shimbun:
The discharge marks the first release under the utility's "subdrain plan," an additional measure conceived to help diminish the build-up of contaminated groundwater at the crippled facility.
TEPCO began discharging water after a third-party panel confirmed that the radioactive content was below the standard set by the utility.
The plan utilizes subdrains, which are essentially wells set up around the main buildings of the power plant to collect groundwater flowing into the complex. Once the groundwater has been pumped from those wells, it undergoes decontamination in a special facility for release into the ocean after being checked for radioactive content.
And Agence France-Presse adds:
The move is a milestone for the company, which said its Advanced Liquid Processing System, which removes highly radioactive substances like strontium and caesium, meant the ground water was now safe to release into the natural environment.
Fishermen had argued that the discharge even of the groundwater would heighten contamination concerns and hurt their already battered reputation.
They had fought to stop the water being released into the sea, even after it is filtered, but eventually bowed to pressure from TEPCO, which is struggling to find space to store the tainted supplies.
But it has yet to find a solution to deal with another highly radioactive 680,000 tonnes of water that was used to cool the reactors during the meltdown, which is still stored on site.
Fishermen are opposed to the fluid being released into the sea, even after it is filtered.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. 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. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Despite the objections of environmentalists and after overcoming local opposition from fishermen, the Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) pumped more than 850 tons of groundwater from below the Fukushima nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean on Monday.
More than four years after a tsunami destroyed the plant and triggered a meltdown, the cleanup effort remains frought with numerous difficulties, including the nearly impossible task of dealing with the millions of gallons of contaminated and radioactive water--both treated and untreated--that have accumulated in thousands of tanks constructed in the shadow of the destroyed power station. On a daily basis, approximately 300 tons of groundwater are pumped to the surface to undergo treatment before being placed into storage.
According to Asahi Shimbun:
The discharge marks the first release under the utility's "subdrain plan," an additional measure conceived to help diminish the build-up of contaminated groundwater at the crippled facility.
TEPCO began discharging water after a third-party panel confirmed that the radioactive content was below the standard set by the utility.
The plan utilizes subdrains, which are essentially wells set up around the main buildings of the power plant to collect groundwater flowing into the complex. Once the groundwater has been pumped from those wells, it undergoes decontamination in a special facility for release into the ocean after being checked for radioactive content.
And Agence France-Presse adds:
The move is a milestone for the company, which said its Advanced Liquid Processing System, which removes highly radioactive substances like strontium and caesium, meant the ground water was now safe to release into the natural environment.
Fishermen had argued that the discharge even of the groundwater would heighten contamination concerns and hurt their already battered reputation.
They had fought to stop the water being released into the sea, even after it is filtered, but eventually bowed to pressure from TEPCO, which is struggling to find space to store the tainted supplies.
But it has yet to find a solution to deal with another highly radioactive 680,000 tonnes of water that was used to cool the reactors during the meltdown, which is still stored on site.
Fishermen are opposed to the fluid being released into the sea, even after it is filtered.
Despite the objections of environmentalists and after overcoming local opposition from fishermen, the Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) pumped more than 850 tons of groundwater from below the Fukushima nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean on Monday.
More than four years after a tsunami destroyed the plant and triggered a meltdown, the cleanup effort remains frought with numerous difficulties, including the nearly impossible task of dealing with the millions of gallons of contaminated and radioactive water--both treated and untreated--that have accumulated in thousands of tanks constructed in the shadow of the destroyed power station. On a daily basis, approximately 300 tons of groundwater are pumped to the surface to undergo treatment before being placed into storage.
According to Asahi Shimbun:
The discharge marks the first release under the utility's "subdrain plan," an additional measure conceived to help diminish the build-up of contaminated groundwater at the crippled facility.
TEPCO began discharging water after a third-party panel confirmed that the radioactive content was below the standard set by the utility.
The plan utilizes subdrains, which are essentially wells set up around the main buildings of the power plant to collect groundwater flowing into the complex. Once the groundwater has been pumped from those wells, it undergoes decontamination in a special facility for release into the ocean after being checked for radioactive content.
And Agence France-Presse adds:
The move is a milestone for the company, which said its Advanced Liquid Processing System, which removes highly radioactive substances like strontium and caesium, meant the ground water was now safe to release into the natural environment.
Fishermen had argued that the discharge even of the groundwater would heighten contamination concerns and hurt their already battered reputation.
They had fought to stop the water being released into the sea, even after it is filtered, but eventually bowed to pressure from TEPCO, which is struggling to find space to store the tainted supplies.
But it has yet to find a solution to deal with another highly radioactive 680,000 tonnes of water that was used to cool the reactors during the meltdown, which is still stored on site.
Fishermen are opposed to the fluid being released into the sea, even after it is filtered.
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.