Fukushima Nuclear Plant to Dump Million Tons of Radioactive Water into Ocean
The Japanese government is campaigning to win support for a plan to pump more than a million tons of radioactive water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean.
Although the government has not formally announced the plan, it has become increasingly clear that it intends to go ahead with a step that will cause anger and anxiety both in Japan and among the country’s east Asian neighbors.
Tokyo Electric has collected nearly 1.3 million tons of contaminated water from cooling pipes used to keep fuel cores from melting since the plant was destroyed in 2011 by the earthquake and tsunami that hit eastern Japan.
The water contains 62 radioactive elements and is being kept in huge tanks on the site of the disabled power plant. However, Tokyo Electric stated it would run out of room to store the water by 2022.
After looking at other proposals, a group of experts working for Japan’s economy and industry ministry determined that releasing the water run into the sea was the best option. The only other viable option considered was to let the water evaporate.
Tokyo Electric said the water has been treated and indicated all radioactive particles had been removed to levels not harmful to humans, except for tritium, which is an isotope of hydrogen that is more difficult to separate from water.
In their proposal last week, the ministry said the controlled release to the sea is preferred because its route is predictable and easier to sample and monitor.
The committee, pointing to common practice around the world where nuclear power stations operating under normal conditions routinely release water containing tritium into the sea, said:
“Compared to evaporation, ocean release can be done more securely.”
The decision comes ahead of Japan’s hosting of the 2020 Olympic Games, with some events set to take place less than 40 miles from the Fukushima site.
Residents and fishermen also fear health effects from releasing the radioactive water as well as damage to the region’s farm industries and image.
South Korean athletes are planning to bring their own radiation detectors and food to the Games, and the country has retained a ban on imports of seafood from the region near Fukushima. They also called upon a senior Japanese embassy official last year to explain how the country would deal with the contaminated Fukushima water.
According to experts, there is no accepted method to separate tritium from water entirely, but it is not a problem in small amounts. Government officials also state that tritium is released regularly from existing nuclear power plants around the world.
The proposal recognizes the water releases would harm industries that, despite safety checks, still face reluctant consumers. It promised to reinforce the monitoring of tritium levels and food safety checks to address safety concerns.
Read more at www.healthnutnews.com
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John Doran
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Not a word on how safe, or not, this procedure is.
This article looks like yet another part of the endless campaign to demonise the nuclear power industry.
John Doran.
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Steve Parker
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The headline is enough to worry people. Is it safe? What are the known risks?
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John Doran
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Exactly, especially as many/most people will read only the headline.
I found Robert Zubrin’s book Merchants Of Despair a real eye-opener on the safety & cleanliness of nuclear power & the disgusting depopulation strategies of the 1%s.
Zubrin is a PhD nuclear engineer with 9 patents, approved or pending.
JD.
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Andy Rowlands
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Tritium is an isotope of hydrogen. It is a beta emitter (electrons or positrons), and has a half-life of 12.5 years. It is produced naturally in small quantities in the atmosphere, and is also present in small quantities in normal drinking water. Beta radiation can travel several feet through the air. It can just penetrate human skin and can cause third-degree (minor) burns from prolonged exposure.
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Carbon Bigfoot
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We can thank Nuclear Engineers Martin Sheen, Michael Douglas, Jane Fonda, Jack Lemon of “China Syndrome” fame and to a lesser extent Meryl Streep, Cher, Kurt Russell of “Silkwood” fame for the state of nuclear energy in the USA. And let’s not forget the misinformed virtue signaling politicians and NRC officials involved with the Three Mile Island incident in Pennsylvania. The zero tolerance limit came out of those fiascos.
Hormesis is the concept that biologic systems can respond in a positive way, or be stimulated by, physical or biologic exposure to low doses of an agent that is toxic at higher doses (1). Additionally, hormesis is defined as “any physiological effect that occurs at low doses which cannot be anticipated by extrapolating from toxic effects noted at high doses” (2). Therefore, radiation hormesis is the theory that biologic systems can respond positively to exposure to low doses of ionizing radiation.
Read more at http://tech.snmjournals.org/content/43/4/242.full
Under monitored conditions and deposited in the proper sea current conditions, I feel this method should be a suitable engineered, biological answer. What other choice does Tokyo Power have? I think a Twenty Billion USD Performance Bond issued by the Japanese Government as a guarantee (as in our asbestos settlement) might provide monetary damage assurance. And as a supplement make sure that the engineers who designed this abortion be stripped of their professional certifications, fined and/or jailed. Installing critical operational equipment below sea level in earthquake prone areas —was your head up your fracking ass?
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Andy Rowlands
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I agree much of the hysteria about anything nuclear comes from the films you mentioned, and I certainly agree building the Fukushima reactors right on the coast in a seismically active region was not the best idea.
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geran
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“Under monitored conditions and deposited in the proper sea current conditions, I feel this method should be a suitable engineered, biological answer.”
Indeed Carbon. Water is an excellent “trap” for radioactive materials. Even high energy gamma rays are dissipated in less than 25 feet.
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Andy Rowlands
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I seem to remember it’s even less than that Geran. If I remember right, neutrons and gamma rays can penetrate a few feet of water.
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geran
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α and β particles can’t make it more than several inches, through water. High energy neutrons and γ-rays can go farther. But nothing of significance gets past 25 feet. That’s why I used “25 feet”. It was so extreme that no one could argue against it.
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