Over 100,000 Tonnes Of Radioactive Water Trapped At Japan Nuke Plant

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Over 100,000 tonnes of radioactive water trapped at Japan nuke plant

Tokyo - More than 100,000 tonnes of highly radioactive water remained at a damaged nuclear plant in north-eastern Japan, the operator said Friday.

Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO), which runs the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, said the contaminated water might overflow if the area has another downpour during the rainy season.

The plant was crippled by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami and has leaked radioactive substances ever since. The operator has continued to inject water to cool overheating reactors.

The operator said 16,200 tonnes of water has been trapped at reactor 1, 24,600 tonnes at reactor 2, 28,100 tonnes at reactor 3 and 22,900 tons at reactor 4. It added another 13,300 tonnes has already transferred to a waste storage facility.

The 105,100 tonnes of water contains an estimated 720,000 terabecquerels of radioactive substances, which is equivalent to about 3 million times the permissible level per year of radioactive substances leaking from the plant.

The operator said it plans to start a water purification system on June 15 that can filter 1,200 tonnes of tainted water a day. It will also install a basement storage tank in mid-August, which can hold 100,000 tonnes of highly radioactive water

-- The Nation 2011-06-03