Tokyo, April 04: The operator of Fukushima power station plans to release water with low radioactive contamination used to cool down the plant’s damaged reactors into the Pacific Ocean.
Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano confirmed the news on Monday and said, “We didn’t have any other alternatives. This is a measure we had to take to secure safety.”
A destructive earthquake and tsunami on March 11 in Japan’s northern coast set off nuclear problems by knocking out power to cooling systems of reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi plant.
TEOCP has been pouring thousands of tons of water into reactors at Fukushima plant to cool the nuclear fuel in the reactor core and in spent fuel storage pools.
TEPCO spokesman Masateru Araki said the plant’s operator would discharge 10,000 tons of water from its waste treatment facility and another 1,500 tons accumulated in pits outside reactor No. 5 and No. 6.
“Unfortunately, the water contains a certain amount of radiation. This is an unavoidable measure to prevent even higher amounts of radiation from reaching the sea,” Edano explained.
The government has ordered the evacuation of about 200,000 people living in a 20-kilometer (12.4-mile) radius around the plant, and told people residing between 20 kilometers and 30 kilometers (18.6 miles) from the plant to remain indoors.
On Sunday, Prime Minister Naoto Kan’ special advisor Goshi Hosono said bringing the crisis-hit Fukushima power plant under control may take “several months.”
—-Agencies