Tritium cannot be removed from the water but is unharmful in small amounts and is routinely released by any nuclear plant, officials say. TEPCO says the radioactivity can be reduced to safe levels and it will ensure that insufficiently filtered water is treated until it meets the legal limit. About 70% of the “ALPS-treated water,” named after the machines used to filter it, still contains Cesium and other radionuclides that exceed releasable limits. The 130 tons of contaminated water created daily is collected, treated and then stored in tanks, which now number about 1,000 and cover much of the plant’s grounds. Water used to cool the reactors' cores leaked into the basements of the reactor buildings and mixed with rainwater and groundwater. 1, 2 and 3 to melt and spew large amounts of radiation. The International Atomic Energy Agency, collaborating with Japan to ensure the project meets international standards, will send a mission to Japan and issue a report before the discharge begins.Ī magnitude 9.0 quake on March 11, 2011, triggered a massive tsunami that destroyed the plant’s power supply and cooling systems, causing reactors No. TEPCO needs a safety approval from the Nuclear Regulation Authority. The plant's operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, aims to have the facilities ready by spring. From there, the water will be released via an undersea tunnel. A concrete facility for diluting the water after it is treated and tested is in the final stages of construction. It will be sent through a pipe from the sampling tanks to a coastal pool to be diluted with seawater and released through an undersea tunnel to a point 1 kilometer offshore.HOW ARE WATER DISCHARGE PREPARATIONS PROCEEDING?ĭuring their visit, AP journalists saw 30 giant tanks for sampling and analyzing the water for safety checks. They also want to release the water in a controlled way to avoid the risk that contaminated water would leak in case of another major quake or tsunami.
Fukishima reactor meltdown full#
The tanks are 96 percent full and expected to reach their capacity of 1.37 million tons in the fall. The government and TEPCO say the tanks must make way for facilities to decommission the plant, such as storage space for melted fuel debris and other highly contaminated waste. WHY RELEASE THE WATER? Fukushima Daiichi has struggled to handle the contaminated water since the 2011 disaster. The water release will be gradual and tritium concentrations will not exceed the plant’s pre-accident levels, TEPCO says. It will be also diluted, along with other radioactive isotopes, they say. TEPCO says the radioactivity can be reduced to safe levels and it will ensure that water is treated until it meets the legal limit. About 70 percent of the treated water still contains cesium and other radionuclides that exceed releasable limits. Water used to cool the reactors’ cores leaked into the basements of the reactor buildings and mixed with rainwater and groundwater. WHAT IS TREATED WATER? A magnitude-9.0 quake on March 11, 2011, triggered a massive tsunami that destroyed the plant’s power supply and cooling systems, causing three reactors to melt and spew large amounts of radiation. The International Atomic Energy Agency, collaborating with Japan to ensure that the project meets international standards, will send a mission to Japan and issue a report before the discharge begins. The plant’s operator, the Tokyo Electric Power Co., aims to have the facilities ready by spring. HOW ARE WATER-DISCHARGE PREPARATIONS PROCEEDING? During a recent visit, Associated Press journalists saw 30 giant tanks for sampling and analyzing the water for safety checks. That process has barely progressed, and the removal of melted nuclear fuel hasn’t even started. Japanese officials say the release is unavoidable and should start soon.ĭealing with the wastewater is less of a challenge than the daunting task of decommissioning the plant. OKUMA, Japan - Twelve years after the triple reactor meltdowns at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, Japan is preparing to release a massive amount of treated radioactive wastewater into the sea.
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