Flow of Tainted Water Is Latest Crisis at Japan Nuclear Plant

[PearliePoo2]

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/30/world/asia/radioactive-water-imperils-fukushima-plant.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=edit_th_20130430#commentsContainer

TOKYO — Two years after a triple meltdown that grew into the world’s second worst nuclear disaster, the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant is faced with a new crisis: a flood of highly radioactive wastewater that workers are struggling to contain. [Groundwater is pouring into the plant’s ravaged reactor buildings at a rate of almost 75 gallons a minute. It becomes highly contaminated there, before being pumped out to keep from swamping a critical cooling system. A small army of workers has struggled to contain the continuous flow of radioactive wastewater, relying on hulking gray and silver storage tanks sprawling over 42 acres of parking lots and lawns. The tanks hold the equivalent of 112 Olympic-size pools.
But even they are not enough to handle the tons of strontium-laced water at the plant — a reflection of the scale of the 2011 disaster and, in critics’ view, ad hoc decision making by the company that runs the plant and the regulators who oversee it. In a sign of the sheer size of the problem, the operator of the plant, Tokyo Electric Power Company, or Tepco, plans to chop down a small forest on its southern edge to make room for hundreds more tanks, a task that became more urgent when underground pits built to handle the overflow sprang leaks in recent weeks.
http://www.google.com/imgres?q=fukushima+storage+tanks&sa=X&rlz=1T4GGNI_enUS494US494&biw=1327&bih=620&tbm=isch&tbnid=bRxhYghrEZoUjM:&imgrefurl=http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/30/world/asia/radioactive-water-imperils-fukushima-plant.html&docid=bfGtVThzde-MOM&imgurl=&w=600&h=384&ei=V89_UbfqNY6NigKm8oGQDg&zoom=1&ved=1t:3588,r:1,s:0,i:88&iact=rc&dur=2377&page=1&tbnh=180&tbnw=277&start=0&ndsp=15&tx=178&ty=118

“The water keeps increasing every minute, no matter whether we eat, sleep or work,” said Masayuki Ono, a general manager with Tepco who acts as a company spokesman. “It feels like we are constantly being chased, but we are doing our best to stay a step in front.”

Tepco rejects the criticism that it has mishandled the growing groundwater problem, saying that the only way to safely stop the inflow is by plugging the cracks in the damaged reactor buildings. It contends that no company in the world has the ability to do that because it would require entering the highly radioactive buildings and working in dangerously toxic water several feet deep.
“We operate the plant, so we know it better than anyone else,” said Mr. Ono, the Tepco spokesman. He then teared up, adding, “Fixing this mess that we made is the only way we can regain the faith of society.”

[RobertEarl]

1. What happened?

How come the most advanced industrial nation still has a problem?

We were told 2 years ago that this was nothing to be worried over. That the Japanese had robots, robots!, they said, that would fix everything up like new in no time.

And they told us there was no meltdown. Where are those people now? I guess they are just ashamed of themselves, as they should be.

Ok, so all we can do now is adapt. "Adapt in Place" will be the next emergency message from dear government as they move to "keep us protected", y'know, homeland security and all that other faith based garbage they feed you every night from the boob tube.

""Cesium is good for you. Radiation is your friend. There is nothing to worry about. Sleep tight. Stay tuned.""

Can you tell I am pissed? Are you pissed?

[PearliePoo2]

6. Yeah I'm pissed. I'm beyond pissed.

TEPCO has lied from the beginning of this cluster-f--k.
I also remember listening to Wolf Blitzer interviewing a Japanese ambassador asking if Japan was going to enlist U.S. or global help in this catastrophe. He was told basically, "thanks, but no thanks", Japan doesn't need any help, we'll handle it ourselves. My jaw dropped, I couldn't believe it. We see how well that worked out, right?
This is a crime against the entire planet.

[PearliePoo2]

2. Here's more from an NPR interview

http://m.npr.org/news/World/177566629

NPR Host Steve Inskeep interviews NPR science correspondant Geoff Brumfiel.

NPR science correspondent Geoff Brumfiel is looking into the implications and has today's Business Bottom Line. Welcome to the program, Geoff.

I'm Steve Inskeep. A team from the International Atomic Energy Agency is visiting a Japanese nuclear power plant this week. The team has been checking on that plant for some time - the plant that melted down. Three of the reactors there melted down after the 2011 earthquake and tsunami. And they arrive amid reports that a large amount of radioactive water had leaked from the plant. NPR science correspondent Geoff Brumfiel is looking into the implications and has today's Business Bottom Line. Welcome to the program, Geoff.

GEOFF BRUMFIEL, BYLINE: Thanks. Nice to be here.

INSKEEP: Why is radioactive water leaking?

BRUMFIEL: Well, as you may remember, these plants melted down in 2011 and what's happened is there's still fuel inside the reactor cores and that fuel still needs to be kept cool.

BRUMFIEL: So they've had to bring in water from outside and pour it in and continue putting in water. That water flows down into the basement of the plant. They pump it out, decontaminate it and store it. And it's in that complex process that these leaks have been found.

INSKEEP: Just so I understand, when you say flows down into the basement of the plant, it's not flowing into a tank? They're actually flooding the basement in order to keep the uranium from going any hotter than it is?

BRUMFIEL: Well, the problem here is this plant was heavily damaged and no one's ever been able to repair it. So it's still broken, basically. There's lots of broken pipes and cracks and things. And nobody really knows what the situation is. But when you put water in, it leaks out.

INSKEEP: So they're sending water in. They don't really know where it's going and some of it's coming out. How serious is it?

BRUMFIEL: Well, the situation with the leaks is - it's a little unclear. So just to sort of expand on what I said before, when they bring the water out they have to decontaminate it and then store it somewhere. And they've been using metal tanks on site. But the problem is that these tanks have been filling up because groundwater has also been coming into the basements.

BRUMFIEL: So instead of using tanks they recently switched to reservoirs. And it's these reservoirs that have been found to be leaky. They are just earthen pits that have been lined with sheets of plastic and the plastic may have torn, or it may just leak. Nobody really knows.

more at link...

[flamingdem]

3. A flippin' insane disaster that is rarely discussed

and that will reach our shores regardless next year in the form of contaminated water .. that will destroy the Pacific coast fishing industry.

[Auntie Bush]

4. This whole situation is very scary.

How will we know if some of those future contaminated seafood won't end up spread all across America?

[PearliePoo2]

5. A very good question.

I do remember reading about 15 tuna that were caught off California summer before last and they were lab tested.
The scientists were flabber-gasted that every single tuna was radioactive traced back to Fukushima.
There were supposed to be more tests done but I haven't read about it.
Maybe a Google search will turn up the latest test results.....or not. hmmm

[flamingdem]

8. Bioaccumulation has to be happening and will be increased when

the tsunami debris arrives. Once it's here it will never stop coming since they don't seem to have a real fix for those leaks. Regardless it will rainout and impact not just the fish but the crops and possibly air quality. I'm not a scientist but I do know that my health will not be improved by extra cesium!!

The Berkeley Labs at UC Berkeley were testing food and milk and there was evidence of contamination, but they stopped testing.

[Safetykitten]

7. I can't wait to hear the "it's ok" from people when the entire Pacific is contaminated.

[Zoeisright]

9. You will NEVER regain the faith of society.

EVER.