IntelliHub – by JG VibesOn Tuesday, the operator of the Fukushima nuclear power plant said that over 1,000 tons of contaminated water was dumped into the sea after a typhoon hit the area.
Typhoon Man-yi hit Japan on Monday, causing heavy rains and uncontrollable floods.
“Workers measured the radioactive levels of the water collected in the enclosure walls, pumping it back into tanks when the levels were high,” said a TEPCO official.
“Once finding it was mostly rain water they released it from the enclosure, because there is a limit on how much water we can store.”
The Tokyo Times reported that:
The utility said the rainwater was discharged from barriers at seven locations and contained strontium 90, which can cause bone cancer if ingested. The beta radiation given off by the strontium did not exceed the government’s limit of 30 becquerels per liter, it said.
Tepco said the radiation level of the water overall, including strontium 90, which accounted for about half of the beta ray emissions, maxed out at 24 becquerels per liter.
In areas where water samples were highly toxic, however, Tepco took a different approach and transferred it elsewhere through makeshift pumps. One of those areas contained rainwater that was emitting 170,000 becquerels per liter, far higher than allowed.
Additionally, both TEPCO and the UN continue to raise the acceptable levels of radiation, so just because the government says its healthy, doesn’t mean that it actually is.
This is still small when compared to the 300 tons of contaminated groundwater that has been leaking into the sea every day for years.
Sources:
[1] 1,130 tons of tainted Fukushima water dumped in sea after typhoon – Japan Today
[2] Tepco discharges tainted rainwater from storage tank areas – Tokyo Times
Writer Bio:
JG Vibes is an Intellihub.com investigative journalist, staff writer and editor. He is also the author of “Alchemy of the Modern Renaissance”, an 87 chapter e-book and is an artist with an established record label. Find him on his Facebook.
http://intellihub.com/2013/09/17/1130-tons-contaminated-fukushima-water-dumped-sea-typhoon/