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In Reversal, Tepco Says Water at Fukushima Is Contaminated Leak Found in Tank at Fukushima Nuclear Plant
(about 4 hours later)
TOKYO — In an embarrassing reversal from its earlier claims, the operator of Japan’s stricken Fukushima nuclear plant said that radioactive particles have been detected in groundwater flowing into the plant, an admission that could raise renewed questions about the company’s ability to handle the plant’s cleanup. TOKYO — The operator of the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant said Wednesday that it had found a leak in one of the hundreds of steel tanks used to store radioactive water at the plant, raising renewed questions about the company’s ability to handle the plant’s cleanup.
While the level of contamination is very low, its discovery amounts to an admission of error by the operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company, or Tepco, which had previously said that no particles had been detected in the water. The reversal, announced on Tuesday, is the latest in a string of mistakes and minor mishaps at the plant. Those mistakes have added to growing criticism of the government’s decision to leave the tricky cleanup in the hands of Tepco, the company that many blame for allowing the accident to happen in the first place. The discovery comes a day after the operator, the Tokyo Electric Power Company, or Tepco, admitted that it had found cesium particles in groundwater flowing into the Fukushima Daiichi plant, reversing its earlier claim that the water was uncontaminated.
The discovery could also create additional problems for Tepco by jeopardizing its plans for alleviating a growing water crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi plant. The company has been struggling to slow groundwater that has been flowing into the basements of the damaged reactor buildings at a rate of 100,000 gallons per day, threatening the makeshift system that cools the crippled reactors. The water, which becomes highly contaminated once it comes in contact with the reactor buildings, must then be stored in huge metal tanks, which have filled every available space at the plant. The company stressed that the size of the tank leak was small — about one liter, or a quart, had dripped out so far, it said — and that the level of radioactivity in groundwater was within safe levels. However, the problems are the latest in a string of mistakes and mishaps that have added to mounting criticism of the government’s decision to leave the tricky cleanup in the hands of Tepco, the company that many blame for allowing the triple meltdown two years ago to happen in the first place.
The company had hoped to reduce the influx by pumping some groundwater into the sea before it reaches the buildings. But, that plan needs the approval of residents, particularly commercial fishermen, in areas outside the evacuation zone immediately around the plant. Those fishermen have been slowly regaining their livelihoods since the triple meltdown two years ago. The company had been reassuring them that the water would not further contaminate the ocean. Recently, Tepco has struggled to deal with tens of millions of gallons of contaminated, toxic water at the plant, which must be stored in the large steel tanks that now occupy virtually every available bit of space there. The amount of radioactive water has continued to grow as groundwater has flowed at a rate of 100,000 gallons per day into the basements of the damaged reactor buildings. This contaminated water must be drawn off every day to prevent it from overwhelming makeshift systems that cool the melted reactors.
The company said on Tuesday, though, that it had erred in the previous tests, and that the water in fact contained cesium, a byproduct of the meltdowns. Tepco said it had found up to 0.39 becquerel of radioactive cesium 137 per liter of water, an amount that is far below Japan’s safety level for drinking water, which is 10 becquerels per liter. With no way to decontaminate the water, the company has no choice but to store it. Wednesday’s leak underscored the risks of doing so at the plant, where a larger spill might potentially reach the nearby Pacific Ocean. The leaking tank had just been installed to store toxic water from an underground storage pond that needed to be emptied after it, too, sprang a leak.
Still, it may be enough to scuttle or at least delay the company’s plan to pump groundwater into the sea. Just last week, Tepco had told local fishing cooperatives that levels of cesium in the groundwater were so low that they could not be detected. Those reassurances were met with intense skepticism by fishermen who, even before Tuesday’s admissions, said they no longer trusted any claims made by Tepco. Faced with growing public alarm over the water crisis, the government last week ordered Tepco to stop the influx of groundwater by freezing soil around the reactor buildings, a novel plan that calls for creating a wall of underground ice. The company has also planned to reduce the influx by pumping some of the groundwater into the sea before it reaches the buildings and becomes contaminated.
However, the pumping plan needs the approval of residents and commercial fishermen in areas outside the evacuation zone immediately around the plant, who have been slowly regaining their livelihoods since the meltdowns spewed radiation over northeastern Japan. The company had been offering them reassurances that the water to be dumped contained no radioactive particles that could further contaminate the ocean.
Those plans could now be jeopardized by Tuesday’s admission that the groundwater in fact does contain cesium, a byproduct of the meltdowns. The company, which conceded that it had erred in previous tests, said it had found up to 0.39 becquerels of radioactive cesium 137 per liter of water, an amount that is far below Japan’s safety level for drinking water of 10 becquerels per liter.
Still, it may be enough to scuttle or at least put on hold the company’s plan to pump groundwater into the sea. Just last week, the company had sought to persuade local fishing cooperatives by telling them that levels of cesium in the groundwater were so low that they could not be detected. Those reassurances were met with intense skepticism by fishermen who, even before Tuesday’s admissions, said they no longer trusted any claims made by Tepco.