Partially Decontaminated Groundwater release starts at Fukushima Daiichi. Sept 14, 2015
TEPCO releases first batch of decontaminated Fukushima groundwater to sea
Tokyo Electric Power Co. was set to release 850 tons of treated radioactive groundwater into the sea off the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant by sundown on Sept. 14.
The discharge marks the first release under the utility’s “subdrain plan,” an additional measure conceived to help diminish the build-up of contaminated groundwater at the crippled facility.
TEPCO began discharging water after a third-party panel confirmed that the radioactive content was below the standard set by the utility.
The plan utilizes subdrains, which are essentially wells set up around the main buildings of the power plant to collect groundwater flowing into the complex. Once the groundwater has been pumped from those wells, it undergoes decontamination in a special facility for release into the ocean after being checked for radioactive content.
The Fukushima Prefectural Federation of Fisheries Cooperative Associations gave the green light to the operation on Aug. 11, and TEPCO began pumping in earnest on Sept. 3.
The release of the first batch of decontaminated groundwater, which had been stored in a tank since last year, started around 10 a.m. The water collected from Sept. 3 will be released in a few days.
TEPCO’s standard is set at 1 becquerel of radioactive cesium per liter of decontaminated groundwater, 3 becquerels for elements that emit beta rays and 1,500 becquerels for tritium–a substance which is very hard to treat.
As for now, the utility plans to pump 100 to 200 tons of groundwater daily, but will increase the volume to 500 tons if it does not encounter any problems with the decontamination facilities.
TEPCO believes the subdrains can halve the approximately 300 tons of daily groundwater buildup at the plant. However, the utility is uncertain how many months it will take to see whether this holds true.
Source: Asahi Shimbun
http://ajw.asahi.com/article/0311disaster/fukushima/AJ201509140069
Partially Decontaminated Groundwater release starts at Fukushima Daiichi
The operator of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant has started releasing groundwater into the sea pumped up from around reactor buildings. The water is decontaminated and monitored before releasing.
The government and Tokyo Electric Power Company say the release is aimed at reducing the daily production of radioactive wastewater by half. The work began at around 10 AM on Monday.
300 tons of contaminated water has been produced daily in the damaged reactor buildings due to flow-in of groundwater.
By evening the operator plans to release some 850 tons of groundwater. This is from the 4,000 tons it has already pumped up from wells around reactor buildings since August last year. The groundwater has been cleaned to permissible radioactive levels.
Workers will continue to release the stored water for 3 more days this time.
Municipalities and local fishermen worry about possible effects on the environment if something goes wrong. The government and the Tokyo Electric Power say they will conduct strict monitoring of the discharge.
Source: NHK
http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/news/20150914_22.html
Overflowing from a Drainage Ditch into the Sea
Contaminated rain water overflowing from a drainage ditch into the sea at Fukushima Daiichi on September 7, 2015.
毎日新聞映像グループ
Tepco Dumps Radioactive Water in Ocean To SAVE Ocean
Tepco Dumps 10,000 Bq Per Liter Tritium Ocean Release Ice wall 2015 https://youtu.be/0fP6iV0_47s
TEPCO releases statement saying they will pump up highly contaminated groundwater for release into the sea. Tepco will constantly check measurements while releasing minimally treated radioactive water into the ocean. The WHO standard says 10,000 BQ of “Tritium” Per Liter is OK. Tritium cannot be filtered or distilled. Half life like 12.5 years could be around 300 years to go back to barely detectable levels. It’s doubtful the Ice wall will ever create a seal to contain radioactivity.
Music: https://youtu.be/31Y103Q1lZs
Not to mention the tanks are not seismicly qualified and are only expected to last a short time. Many have already been leaking. They are running out of physical space to install more and more tanks.
Fukushima Daiichi NPS Prompt Report 2015
Fukushima Daiichi NPS Prompt Report (Sep 02,2015)
Recent topics: SUBDRAIN & GROUNDWATER DRAIN OPERATIONS SET TO BEGIN AT FUKUSHIMA DAIICHI, SHOULD LEAD TO FURTHER PROTECTION OF THE OCEAN
http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/press/corp-…
For more information about the operation of the subdrain and groundwater drain: http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/decommision…
For more information on the seaside impermeable wall: http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/decommision…
For more information on the landside impermeable wall (frozen soil wall): http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/decommision…
-The upper limit of radioactive concentration for Subdrain and Groundwater Drain:
Cs-134 1Bq/L, Cs-137 1Bq/L, Gross 3Bq/L, Tritium 1,500Bq/L
-(Reference 1) The upper limit of radioactive concentration for Groundwater Bypass:
Cs-134 1Bq/L, Cs-137 1Bq/L, Gross 5Bq/L, Tritium 1,500Bq/L
-(Reference 2) WHO Guideline for Drinking-Water Quality:
Cs-134 10Bq/L, Cs-137 10Bq/L, Gross 10Bq/L, Tritium 10,000Bq/L
Prof. Chris Busby at the European Parliament 2013 Radiation Risk ECRR vs. ICRP https://youtu.be/0jG4ePcUzqI
* ECRR-MODEL VS. ICRP *
The existentiality of the lawfuly acceptable amount of radionuclides in the environment is the core question for all life on Earth. This question is scientifically formulated as the intelectual battle between two scientific models on the risk of the radioactivity, the acceptable levels of radionuclides in the environment. The presently by the governments used ICRP-model, by the experts of this website is found guilty to be the cause of ongoing genetical annihilation of all life forms as it underestimates the risks thousands of times. The ECRR-model is suggested to be used.
ECRR-model http://www.euradcom.org
Recommendations of the ECRR http://www.euradcom.org/2011/ecrr2010…
ICRP-model http://www.icrp.org
Analyses of the ICRP model http://irpa11.irpa.net/pdfs/3a35.pdf
Enjoy the scientific battle of both directors of the two Radiation Risk models — J. Valentin and C. Busby, 22.03.2009, Stockholm
The recently resigned Scientific Secretary of the ICRP, Dr Jack Valentin , concedes to Pr. Chris Busby (ECRR) that the ICRP model can not be used to predict the health effects of exposures and that for certain internal exposures it is insecure by up to two orders of magnitude.
He also says that as he was no longer employed by ICRP he could agree that the ICRP and the United Nations committee on radiation protection (UNSCEAR) had been wrong in not examining the evidence from the Chernobyl accident and other evidence which shows large errors in the ICRP risk model.
Nearly 700,000 tons of radioactive water stored at Fukushima plant
OKUMA, Fukushima Prefecture–Almost 700,000 tons of radiation-contaminated water have accumulated at the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, Tokyo Electric Power Co. disclosed Sept. 4.
The water is stored in rows of massive tanks on the plant’s premises.
Contaminated water has been a persistent problem since the 2011 earthquake and tsunami disaster triggered a triple meltdown at the plant, resulting in a vast amount of radiation being spewed from the facility.
Each day, about 300 tons of groundwater still seeps into the basements of the reactor buildings, where it mixes with melted nuclear fuel and becomes highly contaminated, the utility officials said.
The storage tanks TEPCO has constructed to store the water are 10 meters tall and positioned on the inland, and not seaward, side of the reactor buildings.
The plant operator said it had lowered the radiation level of a large portion of the contaminated water using a multinuclide removal apparatus called ALPS (advanced liquid processing system) and other equipment.
The utility completed processing the most highly contaminated water stored in tanks by the end of May.
TEPCO has also worked to replace flange-type bolted storage tanks that are susceptible to leakage with welded tanks to reduce the risk of accidental seepage.
To intercept clean groundwater before it flows into contaminated reactor buildings, TEPCO started a “subdrain plan” Sept. 3 to pump tons of groundwater from “subdrain wells” before it reaches the contaminated reactor buildings each day. The water will be released into the sea after undergoing decontamination treatment
Source: Asahi Shimbun
http://ajw.asahi.com/article/0311disaster/fukushima/AJ201509050017
Fukushima Daiichi drainage system enters operation
The flow of groundwater into the reactor buildings and port area of the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Japan should be significantly reduced with the start of use of a new system to pump, treat, test and discharge the water.
The subdrain system is a group of 41 wells installed
in the vicinity of the reactor and turbine buildings. Pumped up by the subdrain, the amount of groundwater flowing into the buildings is expected to be significantly reduced. The groundwater flowing into the port area is held back by the coastal impermeable wall and pumped up by another group of wells, the groundwater drain system, installed in the bank protection area.
Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco) announced the first pumping up of groundwater by 20 of the wells in the subdrain system had begun at 10.00am today.
The collected groundwater will be temporarily stored to check its quality and then discharged into the port area, with thorough treatment processes.
Tepco said it expects the water pumped up by the subdrain and groundwater drain to be slightly more contaminated than water from the existing groundwater bypass (which intercepts water on the land side of the reactor buildings). However, it said the water will be treated to meet the more stringent quality standards for the subdrain and groundwater drain than for the groundwater bypass. The company noted the water would also be monitored more frequently to verify its quality for discharge.
Once the subdrain and groundwater drain systems are found to be operating stably, the opening that was left in the seaside impermeable wall will be closed to prevent groundwater flowing into the port area, Tepco said. The subdrain and groundwater drain will then work to keep groundwater from accumulating behind the impermeable wall.
Tepco estimates the subdrain will reduce the flow of groundwater into the reactor buildings to 150 cubic meters per day from the current 300 cubic meters. In the longer term, the company said the pumping systems and seaside wall are expected to be joined with the land side impermeable wall (frozen soil wall) currently under construction, “creating a wall around the reactor buildings and further reducing the intrusion of groundwater”.
Tepco sought the approval of prefectural and national fishermen’s associations for use of the system.
Tepco’s chief decommissioning officer Naohiro Masuda said, “The activation of the subdrain system is a major milestone in redirecting fresh water from contaminated area. It also enables the seaside impermeable wall to be closed to further prevent any leakage of contaminated water.”
Source: World Nuclear News
http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/RS-Fukushima-Daiichi-drainage-system-enters-operation-0309155.html
TEPCO pumps up groundwater for release into sea
The operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant has begun pumping up groundwater from around reactor buildings with the aim of releasing it into the sea.
Tokyo Electric Power Company, or TEPCO, hopes the move will slow the accumulation of radioactive wastewater in the buildings, which is building up at a rate of 300 tons a day due to the inflow of groundwater.
The utility will target groundwater from wells dug around the No.1 through No.4 reactor buildings. It plans to filter out much of the radioactive material before releasing the water into the ocean.
Workers on Thursday began pumping up groundwater from 20 wells. They plan to remove 200 tons through the afternoon and store it in special tanks.
TEPCO has yet to reach an agreement with local authorities and fishermen about when to release the decontaminated water, but it will likely be later this month.
The utility claims the drainage will cut the amount of wastewater in the reactor buildings by about half.
But local authorities and fishermen worry about what could happen to the environment if something goes wrong.
http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/news/20150903_17.html
TEPCO starts pumping up Fukushima groundwater
FUKUSHIMA (Jiji Press) — Tokyo Electric Power Co. started pumping up groundwater from wells at its disaster-stricken Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant on Thursday in an operation to prevent radiation-tainted water from increasing further.
TEPCO plans to remove radioactive substances from the pumped-up water.
The groundwater will be released into the sea if radiation levels fall below preset limits after the cleanup. When to start the water release has yet to be decided.
On Thursday, TEPCO was to pump up a total of 100-200 tons of groundwater from 20 of the 41 wells, called subdrains, located near the No. 1 to No. 4 reactor buildings at the plant, which was damaged in the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami. The water will be stored temporarily at a tank with a capacity of 1,000 tons.
At the plant in Fukushima Prefecture, groundwater flows into the reactor buildings and mixes with water that has become highly contaminated with radioactive substances after being used to cool melted nuclear fuel, leading to an increase in the amount of tainted water.
On Aug. 25, the Fukushima Prefectural Federation of Fisheries Cooperative Associations decided to allow TEPCO to release purified groundwater into the sea.
Source: Japan News (Jiji)
Fukushima Staff to Start Pumping Radioactive Ground Water Away From Plant
Staff at the Japanese Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant will begin pumping groundwater from the plant’s territory to prevent the buildup of radioactive liquid this week, the NHK television reported Monday.
MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Pumping will begin on September 3 and will be conducted through wells dug specifically for this purpose, the NHK reported.
According to experts of the TEPCO energy company, these measures will reduce the rate of accumulation of radioactive water in the ground under the plant, from where the dangerous fluid flows into the sea.
Currently, the volume of groundwater under the power plant is increasing daily by 300 tons. It is expected that after the start of pumping, the figure will be reduced to 150 tons per day, the media outlet reported.
TEPCO plans to clean the collected water from radioactive substances and drain it into the sea, according to the channel.
The company received permission to do so after long negotiations with the Fukushima Prefecture authorities and local fishing cooperatives. The agreement between the parties implies that the levels of radioactive substances in the water drained into the sea would not exceed the norm.
The Fukushima nuclear power plant was severely damaged in March 2011 after being hit by a 46-foot tsunami triggered by a massive offshore earthquake. Three of its six reactors went into meltdown, resulting in the release of radiation into the atmosphere, soil and sea.
Source: Sputnik News
Agreement reached on decontaminated water disposal
Fishers in Japan’s northeastern prefecture of Fukushima have formally allowed the release of decontaminated groundwater from around buildings of nuclear reactors into the sea.
The release is aimed at reducing production of heavily contaminated water in the basements of the buildings at the Fukushima Daiichi plant.
Groundwater flowing into the buildings is producing 300 tons of highly radioactive water daily, resulting in a huge number of storage tanks at the plant.
Plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Company, or TEPCO, and the government have been asking the fishers to allow the release to keep the water from flowing into the buildings and becoming heavily tainted.
TEPCO plans to use 41 wells already dug around the buildings to pump up the water and lower the levels of radioactive substances to between one-one-thousandth and one-ten-thousandth of their original amounts before releasing it.
The operator, the government and an independent institution plan to check so that only water below allowed levels is discharged.
On Tuesday, the local federation of fisheries cooperatives approved the plan on condition that the release rules are strictly followed and that compensation is paid for any damage due to harmful rumors.
Federation chairman Tetsu Nozaki said the approval was decided unanimously, but that some members were dissatisfied. He added that the plan is needed for steadily decommissioning the plant, and that he wants TEPCO and the government to keep their word.
The firm’s Fukushima headquarters chief Yoshiyuki Ishizaki said the plan is a big step forward in the decommissioning process as well as tackling the problem of contaminated water. He said fishermen told him that the plan could lead to rebuilding of Fukushima’s fishing industry, and that he will keep their remarks in mind.
TEPCO plans to start releasing the water soon.
Source: NHK
http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/news/20150825_33.html
Fishermen OK TEPCO’s plan to dump Fukushima plant water into sea
FUKUSHIMA, Japan (Kyodo) — Fishermen in Fukushima Prefecture approved on Tuesday a plan by Tokyo Electric Power Co. to pump up contaminated groundwater continuously flowing into the stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear station and dump it into the ocean after removing almost all radioactive materials from it.
The plan is one of TEPCO’s key measures aimed at curbing the amount of toxic water buildup at the complex. Local fishermen had long opposed the plan amid concern over pollution of the ocean and marine products.
“I don’t know if it’s acceptable for all fishery operators, but stable work of decommissioning (of the Fukushima plant) is necessary for the revival of Fukushima’s fishery industry,” Tetsu Nozaki, chairman of the Fukushima Prefectural Federation of Fisheries Co-operative Associations, told reporters after a board meeting.
He also called on TEPCO to make sure it will only discharge water which does not contain radioactive materials exceeding the legally allowable limit.
The amount of toxic water is piling up every day, as untainted groundwater is seeping into the reactor buildings and mixing with radioactive water generated in the process of cooling the reactors that suffered meltdowns in the nuclear crisis triggered by a massive earthquake and tsunami in 2011.
By pumping up water through drainage wells and dumping it into the ocean after treatment, TEPCO said it will be able to halve some 300 tons of contaminated water being generated each day.
In exchange for approving the plan, the Fukushima fisherman’s association demanded on Aug. 11 that the government and TEPCO continue paying compensation for the fishermen as long as the nuclear plant causes damage to their business, among other requirements.
On Tuesday, the National Federation of Fisheries Cooperative Associations also gave the green light for the release of treated water into the sea.
TEPCO has been struggling to resolve the problem of toxic water buildup at the plant for more than four years after the nuclear crisis, with radiation leakages into the environment still occurring regularly at the complex.
The company is also behind schedule on a project to build a huge underground ice wall, another key measure to prevent radioactive water from further increasing at the site.
Source: Mainichi
http://mainichi.jp/english/english/newsselect/news/20150825p2g00m0dm075000c.html
Fishermen OK Tepco’s plan to dump Fukushima plant water into sea
FUKUSHIMA – Fishermen in Fukushima Prefecture on Tuesday approved a plan by Tokyo Electric Power Co. to take contaminated groundwater continuously flowing into the stricken Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant and dump it into the ocean after removing almost all radioactive materials from it.
The plan is one of Tepco’s key measures aimed at curbing the amount of toxic water buildup at the complex. Local fishermen had long opposed the plan amid concern it would pollute the ocean and contaminate marine life.
“I don’t know if it’s acceptable for all fishery operators, but stable work of decommissioning (of the Fukushima plant) is necessary for the revival of Fukushima’s fishery industry,” Tetsu Nozaki, chairman of the Fukushima Prefectural Federation of Fisheries Co-operative Associations, told reporters after a board meeting.
He also called on Tepco to ensure it will only discharge water which does not contain radioactive materials exceeding the legally allowed limit.
The amount of toxic water is piling up every day. Tainted groundwater is seeping into the reactor buildings and mixing with radioactive water generated through cooling the reactors that suffered meltdowns following the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami.
By pumping up water through drainage wells and dumping it into the ocean after treatment, Tepco said it will be able to halve some 300 tons of contaminated water being generated each day.
In exchange for approving the plan, the Fukushima fisherman’s association on Aug. 11 demanded among other things that the government and Tepco continue paying the fishermen compensation for as long as the nuclear plant damages their business.
On Tuesday, the National Federation of Fisheries Co-operative Associations also gave the green light to releasing the treated water into the sea.
Tepco has been struggling to resolve the problem of toxic water buildup at the plant since 2011, with radiation leakages into the environment still occurring regularly at the Fukushima complex.
The company is also behind schedule on a project to build a huge underground ice wall, another key measure to prevent radioactive water from further increasing at the site.
Source: Japan Times
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