Japan to release million tons of radioactive water - TomoNews
- 6 years ago
FUKUSHIMA, JAPAN — Water containing radioactive byproducts have almost filled up the storage tanks at the the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant in Japan.
According to Japan's Yomiuri Shimbun, the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant reactor that suffered meltdowns during the 2011 earthquake and tsunami may end up contaminating groundwater. The reactor produces about 160 tons of radioactive water per day.
The filters that remove radioactive elements from water are not able to remove an element called tritium, thus resulting in the amount of water containing only tritium to steadily increase.
The storage tanks at Fukushima have a capacity of about 1.13 million tons, with about 1.07 million tons of that capacity already filled. Of the space used, 80 percent is occupied by treated water containing tritium.
The area the tanks occupy totals about 230,000 square meters, which is the equivalent of about 32 soccer fields, and there is almost no more expansion space left to allow for more storage.
Officials reportedly have been trying to increase storage capacity by building bigger tanks when it's time to replace the current ones. However, a senior official of Japan's' Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry said this storage method is already close to capacity.
Tokyo Electric Power Company is planning to secure 1.37 million tons of storage capacity by the end of 2020, but has yet to decide on what to do after 2021.
Regarding the treated water, TEPCO's chief decommissioning officer Akira Ono said that it is impossible to keep storing it forever.
The Japan News reports that tritium is produced during regular nuclear plant operations, but also exists in nature. An average of 380 trillion becquerels of treated water containing tritium was released annually into the ocean in the five years before the nuclear plant disaster.
Yomiuri Shimbun reports that the treated water containing tritium at Fukushima measures up to more than 1 million becquerels per liter. This is more than 10 times the national standard allowed for release into the ocean, which is 60,000 becquerels per liter. However, if the water is diluted, it can be released into the sea.
The Japan News reports that a 2016 report by the industry ministry's working group said there are five ways to deal with treated water: releasing it into the sea, evaporation, releasing it after electrolysis, underground burial, or injection into geological layers. Out the five options, releasing it into the sea was seemed as the cheapest and the quickest way to dispose of the water.
An expert committee organized by the ministry says it plans to to hold a public hearing in Fukushima Prefecture and other places to allow local residents to voice their opinions on what to do with the radioactive water.
According to Japan's Yomiuri Shimbun, the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant reactor that suffered meltdowns during the 2011 earthquake and tsunami may end up contaminating groundwater. The reactor produces about 160 tons of radioactive water per day.
The filters that remove radioactive elements from water are not able to remove an element called tritium, thus resulting in the amount of water containing only tritium to steadily increase.
The storage tanks at Fukushima have a capacity of about 1.13 million tons, with about 1.07 million tons of that capacity already filled. Of the space used, 80 percent is occupied by treated water containing tritium.
The area the tanks occupy totals about 230,000 square meters, which is the equivalent of about 32 soccer fields, and there is almost no more expansion space left to allow for more storage.
Officials reportedly have been trying to increase storage capacity by building bigger tanks when it's time to replace the current ones. However, a senior official of Japan's' Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry said this storage method is already close to capacity.
Tokyo Electric Power Company is planning to secure 1.37 million tons of storage capacity by the end of 2020, but has yet to decide on what to do after 2021.
Regarding the treated water, TEPCO's chief decommissioning officer Akira Ono said that it is impossible to keep storing it forever.
The Japan News reports that tritium is produced during regular nuclear plant operations, but also exists in nature. An average of 380 trillion becquerels of treated water containing tritium was released annually into the ocean in the five years before the nuclear plant disaster.
Yomiuri Shimbun reports that the treated water containing tritium at Fukushima measures up to more than 1 million becquerels per liter. This is more than 10 times the national standard allowed for release into the ocean, which is 60,000 becquerels per liter. However, if the water is diluted, it can be released into the sea.
The Japan News reports that a 2016 report by the industry ministry's working group said there are five ways to deal with treated water: releasing it into the sea, evaporation, releasing it after electrolysis, underground burial, or injection into geological layers. Out the five options, releasing it into the sea was seemed as the cheapest and the quickest way to dispose of the water.
An expert committee organized by the ministry says it plans to to hold a public hearing in Fukushima Prefecture and other places to allow local residents to voice their opinions on what to do with the radioactive water.