Fukushima nuclear plant leaking contaminated water
June 13, 2013
By
Canadian Consulting Engineer
The BBC's Asia bureau reported on June 6 that the Fukushima nuclear plant was leaking contaminated water and that radioactive caesium had been detected in ground water around the plant.
The BBC’s Asia bureau reported on June 6 that the Fukushima nuclear plant was leaking contaminated water and that radioactive caesium had been detected in ground water around the plant.
The Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco) announced the water leaks on June 5, but said they were occurring at the rate of one drop every three to four seconds from a storage container.
Hundreds of water tanks have been constructed at the plant to provide water to cool the reactor cores. Three reactors at the plant suffered a meltdown in 2011 after an earthquake struck Japan and caused a tsunami to flood the reactors with seawater, rendering its safety systems useless.
The plant has been stabilized, but it will take years to contain the damage.
On May 31, however, the UN Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation released a draft report that said cancer rates are not expected to rise as a result of the Fukushima nuclear disaster, and that “no radiation-related deaths have been observed among nearly 25,000 workers involved at the accident site.”
To read the BBC reports, click here and here.
