Nuclear powerSharp increase in radioactive water leaks at Fukushima
Tokyo Electric Power(TEPCO) has reported a rise in groundwater radiation levels, saying a tank at the firm’s Fukushima plant leaked 300 metric tons of toxic water in August 2013. Water samples from wells, taken in mid-October, show a record-high concentration of beta-ray emitting substances, and a sharp increase in the presence of radioactive tritium. Japanese prime ministerShinzo Abe, in a tacit admission that Japan cannot effectively handle the continuing radiation leaks from the stricken plant, said Japan would be interested in receiving foreign help to contain widening radioactive water leaks at Fukushima.
Tokyo Electric Power (TEPCO) has reported a rise in groundwater radiation levels, saying a tank at the firm’s Fukushima plant leaked 300 metric tons of toxic water in August 2013. Water samples from wells, taken in mid-October, contained 400,000 becquerels per liter of beta-ray emitting substances, a record high since the nuclear accident in March 2011. Samples from previous days show radiation levels of just sixty to ninety becquerels per liter. Radioactive tritium also increased to a high of 790,000 becquerels.
ABC News reports that TEPCO has been transferring water from the tank and removing surrounding contaminated soil from the area since August 2013, when the leaking from the storage tank was discovered. “Other wells are not showing such a high level. We need to take additional measures for the areas around this well,” Masayuki Ono, TEPCO spokesman, told a press conference last Friday evening. TEPCO has removed most of the soil contaminated by the August spill but might have failed to collect some radioactive materials, Ono said.
TEPCO continue to face growing criticism over its handling of the aftermath of the Fukushima disaster. The firm has poured thousands of metric tons of water onto the reactors to keep them cool. Radioactive water is being stored in about 1,000 tanks, but contaminated water has made its way into the Pacific since the meltdown which followed the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami.
ABC News notes that earlier in October, Japan’s prime minister Shinzo Abe expressed interest in receiving foreign help to contain widening radioactive water leaks at the Fukushima plant. “We are wide open to receive the most advanced knowledge from overseas to contain the problem,” Abe said in his English speech to open a conference on energy and environment held in Kyoto in western Japan. “My country needs your knowledge and expertise,” he said.
Japan recently organized a coalition of major utilities and nuclear experts, including several advisers from France, Britain, and Russia, to discuss decommissioning. In September, the industry and trade ministry started accepting project proposals from private firms to tackle the contaminated water problem.
