Tokyo Electric Power Co.
(TEPCO) said on April 9 that radioactive water was leaking from another
underground cistern at the crippled Fukushima No. l Nuclear Power Plant,
raising serious concerns and questions over whether the utility's plan to
handle ever-increasing radioactive water would be effective.
Radioactive water was found leaking from an underground
storage tank to which contaminated water was supposed to be transferred from
another underground cistern where leakage was detected over the weekend. Partly
because of the influx of underground water, about 400 tons of contaminated water accumulates each day at the nuclear
complex. TEPCO, the operator of the crippled nuclear power station, had
planned to build water tanks that are relatively easy to set up and use them as
"trump cards" for handling polluted water. But the latest revelation
of the leakage at another underground cistern at the plant has cast doubt on
the feasibility of the plan.
Following the latest discovery of the leakage, the
utility unveiled its plan to transfer contaminated water into other storage
tanks with a total capacity of 43,000 cubic meters on the premises of the
nuclear plant for the time being in an attempt to find a way out of the
trouble.
Nevertheless, among the
water tanks to which radioactive water is to be transferred are storage tanks
that are of the same structure as those that were found
leaking contaminated water. In addition, the condensate storage tank with a
capacity of 4,800 cubic meters near turbine buildings for the Nos. 1 and 2
reactors is also a candidate facility to receive contaminated water, but the
facilities from which contaminated water is supposed to be transferred are
about 500 meters apart. Therefore,
if the utility were to use the condensate storage tank, it would have to set up
pumps and connect the tank with the troubled underground cisterns with pipes.
The level of radiation near the condensate storage tank stood at 0.25 millisieverts per hour as of April 1.
Therefore, it would likely be difficult to hire workers to do the job.
In a bid to break the
so-called "shoestring operation," TEPCO is aiming for the early
operation of ALPS, a multiple nuclide purification system capable of removing
62 kinds of radioactive materials. The utility has been working on the project
because it is exploring the possibility of eventually releasing treated water
into the ocean after securing the consent of local governments and residents.
But local fishery cooperatives and other parties stand firm against the scheme.
Masayuki Ono, deputy general manager of TEPCO's Nuclear
Power and Plant Sitting Division, said, "There is no way to release
(treated water) into the ocean. We will continue to store it at any cost."
But the utility has not shown the public how to do it.
April 10, 2013(Mainichi Japan)(Reference)
Even after decontamination 28mSv/h（β＋γ）was measured on the surface of the
soil that had covered the tank and been absorbed the leaked radioactive water.(11/4/13) http://www.tepco.co.jp/cc/press/2013/1226353_5117.html
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