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Faulty tanks leave radiated water with nowhere to go

23 Comments
By Mari Saito and Antoni Slodkowski

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23 Comments
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The government estimates 300 tonnes of radiated water are leaking every day.

Doesn't the local news just say 300 tons? 300 tons a day and just 300 tons is totally different.

In any case, I guess this is what TEPCO gets for hiring the cheapest folks to build these tanks. If they did a half-assed job, can you imagine how many more will leak? And they made the ones in Hokkaido as well? My goodness. I hope Hokkaido doesn't get hit with an earthquake/tsunami!

3 ( +3 / -0 )

the plant’s owner turned to three of Japan’s largest construction companies for a quick fix to store radiated water

Galapagos rules. Don't put it out for global tender. Don't get best value. Don't get fit for purpose.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

Well the contract was given to companies already in the loop, and they supplied a below par product as has been supplied in the past. The same people, same companies all passing TAX payers money around, (with no accountability), Yet unable to produce what was apparently ordered or needed. I dispare. The rot is so deep do we have to burn the house down? And they think removing the fuel rods using again the same dirty contractors that have supplied unskilled underpaid disposable workers will go smoothly. I would like to know what companies are building the houses for thoses displaced, as it has been 2 years I can only guess that they are huge mansions. But maybe the Money has gone and their new accommodation will leak like a TEPCO storage tank! In 2 years (takse about this long for a modicom of truth) we will know more as we watch ourselves and those we love fade away.

2 ( +4 / -2 )

Well if doing it on the cheap is the name of the game, then I sure that China could produce an ever cheaper version, or perhaps Vietnam, or even Bangladesh. They would fail also but it would keep the money flowing for the people at the top. We must protect their benefits at all cost.

If the local seas go too radioactive, I am sure they will be able to work out a deal for special luxury houses built on Mount Fuji for the very rich. As for everyone else, "Tough luck and we are so sorry!"

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Haven't they ever heard of a heat exchanger? They've had a couple years now. Why cant they set some up to keep the contaminated water in a loop?

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The Japanese government wants the right to dump contaminated water into an international body of water, the Pacific Ocean. This should bring an outcry from governments around the Pacific and even the world, who should--if they cared about the environment and their citizen's health--demand to be involved in the decision-making process and decommissioning of Daiichi. Instead, there is mostly silence, as these same governments and their corporate sponsors don't want to alarm the public any more about the true risks and true costs of nuclear energy.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

“The opinion among the groundwater specialists is that TEPCO has no idea what it’s doing,”

Among the groundwater specialists and everybody else. Is it too late to panic?

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Looks like situation is worsen and TEPCO dont have any proper road map how to deal with situation. Its better to deploy Specialist on any cost sooner than later.

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The Fukushima nuclear disaster is a nightmare that never seems to end even after you have woken up. We can all stop blaming the earthquake & subsequent tsunami for the disaster. It is the incompetent TEPCO and Japanese government agencies dealing with the problem that is the cause of the ongoing problems. No technology solutions are insight and the worst part of this is the ongoing contamination of the living sea and the effect this will have on human beings everywhere, not just in Japan. I hesitate to eat seafood again when I am in Japan. In future, this might to mean never to eat seafood EVER AGAIN. What about cross-contamination across the food chain? Will cattle, milk, food grown elsewhere be safe? What about the air we breath? Do we need some kind of permanent air-filtering device in future? Is mankind ready to colonize the moon to escape from a irradiated world?

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Just hope there is not another massive quake or quake induced tsunami ...Those bolt together tanks are setting on unstable earth,no foundation of any kind, that cant be good. Perhaps these tanks are failing at the bolted seams because they are settling into the ground like the leaning tower of Pisa. The powers that be in Japan should be begging for advice and help with this problem instead of half assing around.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

Too right Steve, I was just going to comment on the fact that one more quake could send the whole lot into the ocean in one big gush. Holy cows what a mess that would be. And the longer they wait the higher the probability is.

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that were relatively cheap

Isn't that where all the problems started? Money?

Note that it's now 400 tonnes, not the usual 300!

Any advance on 400? You madam, any advance? No? How about you sir...?

0 ( +1 / -1 )

If another tsunami came and hit these tanks.. would they withstand it? or are we looking at miles and miles of land covered by concentraed radiactive waste in that scenario?

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Words could be... "Why the tank failed" Ive seen those tanks made by some germans, the tanks are steel plate with lots of holes, bolted with silicone. Sure they can fail, Thats why i love my welded tanks, yeah. thats what I do for a living.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

..." Right now we can’t see the future. There is so much uncertainty,” said Takayuki Yanai...

I can see the future pretty clearly at this point and it looks pretty bad unless those involved (Yanai and friends) do whatever it takes, and that includes outside expertise. Seems to me that the layers of contracting is a central issue that must be resolved for the long haul ahead. Make working on the cleanup into a career with qualifications and pensions, not the work for the lowest levels who are powerless against the gangsters and just sheer weight of multiple management. Then there might be some hope. Right now, it is a zoo and we can all see where this is going...even you, Yanai-san.

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What happened to the plan to filter the water with zeolite? I always that was the obvious long term solution. Because "water" is of course not the problem; it is the radioactive particles contained in the water.

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So, do dump the water in the ocean and keep eating the sushi or don't ???????????

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Why don't they just let the water evaporate into the air and all that would remain are the radioactive particles? I believe the reason why they do not do this is because as the water evaporates into the air, the radioactive particles are somehow attached to the water molecules. Think of it as radioactive steam. This morning I saw on NHK television the land around Fukushima is becoming contaminated again with high levels of radiation, this is after the soil removal. Think of Chernobyl Russia, 35 years ago, and not one person is allowed to return to the town, and radiation levels are at their highest point ever. The rule again is, radiation never dilutes, it becomes concentrated as it enters the food chain. Look up the word, bioaccumulation.

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

Dumping the water into the sea will cause higher levels of cancer to those living near the coast....

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The utility has to find space for an additional 400 tons of radioactive water each day because of the need to keep the reactors cool for the next seven years.

What happens after the next seven years?

0 ( +0 / -0 )

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