FUKUSHIMA WATER CRISIS: Water recycling system urgently needed, ex-chairman of U.S. nuclear watchdog says

(Source) http://ajw.asahi.com/article/0311disaster/fukushima/AJ201310140011
#October 14, 2013
By SHIRO NAMEKATA/ Correspondent
WASHINGTON--Japan urgently needs an effective system that reuses radiation-contaminated water to cool down the crippled reactors at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant, said Gregory Jaczko, former chairman of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
In an interview with The Asahi Shimbun, the nuclear expert said failure to handle the contaminated water problem at the site will damage Japan’s credibility.
Excerpts from the interview follow:
What I saw was somewhat surprising: the lack of monitoring of the tanks.Fundamentally, this issue comes down more to management and safety focus than anything else.
[...]
There should be experts within the regulator who understand hydrogeology and the groundwater issues.
[...]
For a country like Japan, that is even more significant because of the small size of the country. When you have an accident, it has the potential to contaminate, as a percentage, a significant portion of Japan.



[…]
For the long term, it is beneficial to look for alternative ways to generate electricity.
[..]
If I were advising the Japanese industry, I would look to put effort and focus on new technologies and new industries to generate electricity.