At a small section of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant’s central control room, the treated water transfer switch is on. A graph on a computer monitor nearby shows a steady decrease of water levels as treated radioactive wastewater is diluted and released into the Pacific Ocean.
In the coastal area of the plant, two seawater pumps are in action, gushing torrents of seawater through sky-blue pipes into the big header where the treated water, which comes down through a much thinner black pipe from the hilltop tanks, is diluted hundreds of times before the release.
But Takahara said the scarcity of information from inside the nuclear reactors makes planning and development of the necessary robotic technology and a facility for the melted fuel removal extremely difficult.The projected decades-long release of treated water has been strongly opposed by fishing groups and criticized by neighboring countries. China immediately banned imports of seafood from Japan in response.
Releasing the water into the sea is a milestone for the decommissioning of the plant, which is expected to take decades. But it is just the beginning of the challenges ahead, such as the removal of the fatally radioactive melted fuel debris that remains in the three damaged reactors, a daunting task if ever accomplished.
The Japanese government and TEPCO say releasing the water is an unavoidable step in the decommissioning of the plant. The pace will quicken later and about 1/3 of the tanks will be removed over the next 10 years, freeing up space for the plant’s decommissioning, said TEPCO executive Junichi Matsumoto, who is in charge of the treated water release. The water will be released over 30 years, but as long as melted fuel stays in the reactors, it requires cooling water under the current prospect.
Spent fuel removal from the Unit 1 reactor’s cooling pool is set to start in 2027. The reactor top is still covered with debris from the explosion 12 years ago and needs to be cleaned up after putting a protective cover to contain radioactive dust.
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At Fukushima Daiichi, decommissioning the nuclear plant is far more challenging than water releaseFor the wrecked Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, managing the ever-growing volume of radioactive wastewater held in more than 1,000 tanks has been a safety risk and a burden since the meltdown in March 2011.
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At Fukushima Daiichi, decommissioning the nuclear plant is far more challenging than water releaseFor the wrecked Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, managing the ever-growing volume of radioactive wastewater held in more than 1,000 tanks has been a safety risk and a burden since the meltdown in March 2011
Weiterlesen »
At Fukushima Daiichi, decommissioning the nuclear plant is far more challenging than water releaseFor the wrecked Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, managing the ever-growing volume of radioactive wastewater held in more than 1,000 tanks has been a safety risk and a burden since the meltdown in March 2011.
Weiterlesen »
At Fukushima Daiichi, decommissioning the nuclear plant is far more challenging than water releaseFor the wrecked Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, managing the ever-growing volume of radioactive wastewater held in more than 1,000 tanks has been a safety risk and a burden since the meltdown in March 2011.
Weiterlesen »
At Fukushima Daiichi, decommissioning the nuclear plant is far more challenging than water releaseFor the wrecked Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, managing the ever-growing volume of radioactive wastewater held in more than 1,000 tanks has been a safety risk and a burden since the meltdown in March 2011. Its release marks a milestone for the decommissioning, which is expected to take decades.
Weiterlesen »
At Japanese nuclear plant, controversial treated water release just the beginning of decommissioningThe sound of treated radioactive water flowing down to an underground secondary pool could be heard from beneath the ground during a media tour of Japan's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.
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