For the first time, Fukushima Daiichi’s operator TEPCO says it is planning to pump contaminated water from the crippled nuclear plant and dump it into the ocean after processing it to remove radioactive materials.
Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), the operator of the
crippled nuclear plant, is in talks with government ministries
about the new plan, Japanese media reported on Thursday.
TEPCO has dumped water into the ocean numerous times after
testing its safety. However, if this plan is approved, it will be
the first time the company has released water that has already
been contaminated.
The plan is aimed at battling the growing amounts of contaminated
water accumulating in the plant’s buildings and to reduce the
volume of groundwater that is flowing through the premises and
becoming contaminated.
Some 400 tons of untainted groundwater are believed to be seeping
into the buildings and mixing with toxic water generated in the
process of cooling the crippled reactors on a daily basis.
READ MORE: Fukushima nuclear meltdown worse than initially reported - TEPCO
The new plan would involve subdrains that were built around
buildings on the plant site. The 27 subdrains were originally
used to collect groundwater and release it into the ocean to
lower the groundwater level. Following the earthquake in March
2011, they were damaged and the groundwater started to get
contaminated.
TEPCO plans to repair the subdrains and create 15 additional ones
to reduce the volumes of contaminated water to around 200 tons a
day, or half the present level.
According to the plan, TEPCO is to remove radioactive cesium and
strontium from the water and release it into the sea.
The Fukushima operator has submitted a request for approval to
use the new equipment to the Nuclear Regulation Authority. TEPCO
plans to start the process in the autumn.
Government authorities together with TEPCO officials visited
local fisheries to explain the plan at the end of July, officials
said, adding that they are waiting for the consent of local
residents.
Abnormalities in Japanese monkeys linked to Fukushima nuclear disaster
It will be difficult for TEPCO to receive approval for the plan,
as the utility has been fiercely criticized over its management
of Fukushima in the wake of the 2011 earthquake-triggered tsunami
that decimated the plant.
"Fishermen are sure to raise objections to the plan so it
will be difficult to gain their understanding," an official
said, as quoted by Asahi Shimbun. "The water close to the
plant buildings is already contaminated."
In May, the company launched a groundwater bypass program aimed
at pumping the groundwater at the uphill side of the facility and
testing it for radiation, then flushing any uncontaminated water
into the Pacific Ocean. The company has also been constructing an
underground frozen soil wall to stop groundwater from reaching
the plant.