Pacific Ocean – a handy drain for Fukushma’s radioactive trash 太平洋―便利な福島原発放射能のごみ捨て場

Use sea as nuclear sink, says Tokyo http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/use-sea-as-nuclear-sink-says-tokyo/story-fnb1brze-1226709319491 BY:RICK WALLACE, TOKYO CORRESPONDENT September 03, 2013     THE head of Japan’s nuclear watchdog has flagged dumping contaminated water from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean amid mounting woes over storage and seepage of radioactive water.

But Nuclear Regulation Authority chairman Shunichi Tanaka said any water released would be treated to an extent that the level of contaminants was well below international limits.

“If (the situation) becomes more severe, and some water falls below regulatory limits, it might have to be discharged into the ocean,” he said yesterday in a speech to the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan in Tokyo.

“I know this (previously) created a great stir in some circles. However, I will absolutely not support the dumping of water where the level of contamination is above the limits.”

Mr Tanaka said properly functioning nuclear plants dumped contaminated water into the ocean as part of normal operations, provided it met the limits.

But any discharge of water – irrespective of the level of decontamination carried out – is likely to spark outrage from environmentalists, fishing operators and neighbouring countries....[...]