Japanese Nuclear Plant May Have Been Leaking for Two Years

[kristopher]

By HIROKO TABUCHI
Published: July 10, 2013

TOKYO — The stricken nuclear power plant at Fukushima has probably been leaking contaminated water into the ocean for two years, ever since an earthquake and tsunami badly damaged the plant, Japan’s chief nuclear regulator said on Wednesday.

In unusually candid comments, Shunichi Tanaka, the head of the Nuclear Regulation Authority, also said that neither his staff nor the plant’s operator knew exactly where the leaks were coming from, or how to stop them.

The operator, Tokyo Electric Power, has reported spikes in the amounts of radioactive cesium, tritium and strontium detected in groundwater at the plant, adding urgency to the task of sealing any leaks. Radioactive cesium and strontium, especially, are known to raise risks of cancer in humans.

Mr. Tanaka’s comments bring into sharp relief the precariousness of the cleanup at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, where core meltdowns occurred at three of the six reactors. A critical problem has been the groundwater that has been pouring into the basements of the damaged reactor buildings and becoming contaminated. Workers have been pumping the water out to be stored in dozens of tanks at the plant, but have not stopped the inflow.

Until recently, Tokyo Electric, known as Tepco, flatly denied that any of that water was leaking into the ocean..

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/11/world/asia/japanese-nuclear-plant-may-have-been-leaking-for-two-years.html?_r=0

[Autumn]

1. May Have??

[kristopher]

2. It's a Japanese cultural thing...

The lack of direct statements can drive you nuts if you deal with it a lot.

[Autumn]

3. Hell I thought it was an American thing.

Very similar.

[GliderGuider]

4. It's also a "good science" thing.

Always acknowledge the improbability of certainty...

[kristopher]

5. Given the record of data...

...I think "apparently has been" would be most accurate.

[GliderGuider]

6. Agree. nt

[OKIsItJustMe]

8. It appears to be a New York Times headline writer thing

(The language in the body of the article is stronger.)

[kristopher]

9. The reporter is Japanese

And I'd bet that the headline is a more accurate translation than the body of the article.

ETA: This isn't a form of bigotry. The oblique nature of Japanese communications is well documented and undisputed. It is thought to originate in the often terminal consequences of saying the wrong thing to someone in the samurai class - which was up to nearly a quarter of the population - as they were a group who was legally entitled to kill you if they didn't like the way you spoke to them. And within that 1/4 of the population it is was even more dicey talking to those who outranked you.

[OKIsItJustMe]

11. I believe you misunderstand

The headline reads: “Japanese Nuclear Plant May Have Been Leaking for Two Years”

The first sentence of the story reads: “The stricken nuclear power plant at Fukushima has probably been leaking contaminated water into the ocean for two years, ever since an earthquake and tsunami badly damaged the plant, Japan’s chief nuclear regulator said on Wednesday.”

Typically, headlines are not written by the same people who write news stories. That’s why I blamed it on the New York Times headline writer.


http://dailycaller.com/2013/04/04/warning-headline-writers-are-bad-for-mental-health/

…

Anyone who has written for a publication knows this. Editors tend to check with authors about meaningful edits to the body of any piece they submit, but headlines are another story. The titles writers offer at the top of their pieces are commonly chucked. The article is turned over to the experts to craft a headline that is related to the article’s topic, but most importantly that will cut through the clutter and attract attention. Most writers will tell you of having been surprised by the headlines they’ve found at the top of their work.

…

[kristopher]

13. That's possible, but I don't think its so probable.

I know how the headlines get written, and did understand your meaning. I just don't think it happens to be the case here. The Japanese reporter is (IMO) going to be conscious of the way Japanese officials react to the story. Softening the headline helps protect the reporters position while the body of the story is more straightforward. This is, in my experience, consistent with the way ideas and thoughts are routinely communicated. The headline is a sort of "public face" for the "true face" contained in the article.

Agree or not, that's ok. It isn't a science.

[OKIsItJustMe]

7. “has probably been”

…

Tepco has taken some measures in the hope of keeping contaminated groundwater away from the sea, including fortifying an underwater wall that runs along much of the shoreline at the plant site. Mr. Tanaka said it was doubtful whether those measures would be effective.

…

[RobertEarl]

10. Think of it as an upside down volcano

Instead of burning up, the melted cores are burning down.

Months ago satellites picked up an extra warm flow of water around Fukushima.

[Yo_Mama]

12. I think it's a certainty that it has

Since a month or two after the accident.

The entire site is contaminated, thus groundwater is contaminated, and there's no way to hermetically seal off the water interchange.

I think what they have done is to stop flowing water in the pipes and ditches from running into the ocean, but how could they stop groundwater exchange?

That area receives heavy rains during one season, and the pressure of the water would inevitably cause more seepage.