Fukushima's new 'emergency' – radioactive water leaks
Fukushima nuclear plant is creating an 'emergency,' Japan's nuclear watchdog says. Highly radioactive water from Fukushima is leaking into the ocean and discharges could accelerate if nothing is done.
TOKYO
Highly radioactive water seeping into the ocean from Japan's crippled Fukushima nuclear plant is creating an "emergency" that the operator is struggling to contain, an official from the country's nuclear watchdog said on Monday.
This contaminated groundwater has breached an underground barrier, is rising toward the surface and is exceeding legal limits of radioactive discharge, Shinji Kinjo, head of a Nuclear Regulatory Authority (NRA) task force, told Reuters.
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The toxic water release was however heavily criticised by neighbouring countries as well as local fishermen and the utility has since promised it would not dump irradiated water without the consent of local townships.
"Until we know the exact density and volume of the water that's flowing out, I honestly can't speculate on the impact on the sea," said Mitsuo Uematsu from the Center for International Collaboration, Atmosphere and Ocean Research Institute at the University of Tokyo.
In the United States, across the Pacific, there was no sense of alarm.
"With the amount of dilution that would occur, any kind of release in Japan would be non-detectable here," said David Yogi, spokesman for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
http://www.csmonitor.com/Environment/Latest-News-Wires/2013/0806/Fukushima-s-new-emergency-radioactive-water-leaks
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