Radioactive water from failed Fukushima Nuclear Plant leaking into Pacific

by fulltimestudent 35 Replies latest social current

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  fulltimestudent

  This story from ABC (Australia) News Service:

  http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-08-06/radioactive-water-leaking-into-pacific-ocean-in-new-fukushima-/4866860

  Go to the above leak for an interview with an ABC reporter who has been to the site.

  This is a serious and likely dangerous leak

  Radioactive water leaking into Pacific Ocean in new Fukushima 'emergency' By North Asia correspondent Mark Willacy, wires Updated Tue Aug 6, 2013 11:05am AEST VIDEO: Radioactive groundwater breaches Fukushima containment (ABC News) RELATED STORY: Nuclear experts slam Fukushima nuclear plant operators RELATED STORY: Fukushima operators admit radioactive water leaking into Pacific MAP: Japan Japan's nuclear watchdog says there is a state of emergency at the shattered Fukushima nuclear plant over ongoing leaks of radioactive water. An official from the Nuclear Regulation Authority says contaminated groundwater has risen above a shore barrier meant to contain it and is seeping into the Pacific Ocean. Speaking to the Reuters news agency, Shinji Kinjo revealed the leak is exceeding legal limits of radioactive discharge. Countermeasures planned by Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO), the operator of the Fukushima nuclear complex, are only a temporary solution, Mr Kinjo added. "Right now, we have an emergency," he said. TEPCO has been struggling to contain hundreds of tonnes of groundwater entering the plant everyday - water that quickly becomes contaminated. But the company has also been roundly condemned for failing to make public leaks of radioactive water into the Pacific, despite knowing about it. In the early weeks following the 2011 earthquake and tsunami, the Japanese government allowed TEPCO to dump tens of thousands of tonnes of toxic water into the Pacific in an emergency move. How do nuclear reactors work? Nuclear power stations are a major source of energy for many countries around the world. That prompted heavy criticism by neighbouring countries as well as local fishermen, and the company has since promised it would not dump irradiated water without the consent of local townships. In a bid to prevent more leaks into the bay of the Pacific Ocean, plant workers created an underground barrier by injecting chemicals to harden the ground along the shoreline of one of the reactor buildings. But that barrier is only effective in solidifying the ground at least 1.8 metres below the surface. By breaching the barrier, the water can seep through the shallow areas of earth into the nearby sea. More seriously, it is rising toward the surface - a break of which would accelerate the outflow. The regulatory task force overseeing accident measures of the Fukushima station, which met last Friday, "concluded that new measures are needed to stop the water from flowing into the sea that way," Mr Kinjo said. ABC/Reuters

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  Glander

  Start taking Potassium Iodine if you're worried about it.

  I've peed in the Pacific ocean, the Atlantic and the Mississippi, Columbia, Colorado, etc rivers. Life still goes on.

  "This is a serious and likely dangerous leak"

  not really
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  designs

  Radiation levels in the ocean's food chains need to be monitored and tested, also deformities up the entire food chain. People with thyroid problems should cut back on certain sea foods like women are instructed to do while pregnant.
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  zeb

  The attached story of the 15tonne fat burg in the London sewers was also pretty heavy going.
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  designs

  We are in the process of dodging what could be a similar disaster in San Clemente, Ca. with the shutting down of San Onofre Nuclear Power Plant. Contaminated equipment, radiation leaking into the soil and leaking out to sea. It sits on two major earthquake faults and has an eroding sea wall 6' below a tidal wave that hit Fukushima.
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  sir82

  I've peed in the Pacific ocean, the Atlantic and the Mississippi, Columbia, Colorado, etc rivers. Life still goes on.

  Odd comment.

  Do you really think radioactive waste is no more dangerous than "pee"?
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  designs

  Glander has radioactive pee
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  bohm

  Good news, this is peanuts compared to the amount of radioactive isotopes in the sea.
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  LongHairGal

  fulltimestudent:

  This worries me also.

  I wonder what the hell is being done about it after two years, besides hushing the story up?
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  designs

  LHG- The ocean is being used as a dump again, they hope the dilution in sea water will make it less toxic.