Radioactive Water
The Tokyo Electric Power Company admitted that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s remarks about the total control of the contaminated water from the Fukushima atomic power station, which had been made at the recent International Olympic Committee (IOC) general assembly, were false. TEPCO, which runs the power plant, had a press conference at the Korean Embassy in Japan on September 10 with the Korean press and said, “We’ve already announced that the water flowing out to the outside sea contains tritium and our official stance has not changed.”
Three days earlier, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe assured at the general assembly that the contaminated water was completely contained within a 0.3km3 range from the port of the first unit of the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant. The purpose of the remarks was to dispel the concerns about another accident and to be chosen as the host city for the 2020 Olympic Games.
However, Yasutaka Denda, who manages the social communication policy of the power company, confirmed that the underwater fence between the port of the power station and the outside sea did not fully block the movement of water and pollutants. “The fence does not completely block the passage of radioactive substances, but filters particulate materials, mud, and the like only to some extent, and we’re estimating the amount of tritium that has leaked to the sea since May 2011 at approximately 40 trillion Bq.”
Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) Deputy Secretary-General Hideka Morimoto also joined the news conference and said, “There might be some questions about the definition of the complete control remarked by the Prime Minister.” He went on to say, “I think that the possibility of leakage is not 0%.”
With what the Prime Minister said arousing suspicion and criticism both at home and abroad, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has decided to send another fact-finding team to the power station this autumn. IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano announced the plan at the regular board meeting held in Vienna, Austria on September 9 (local time), saying, “Concerns over the leakage of the contaminated water as of late are reminding us of the fact that the impact from the accident is ongoing.”
Under the circumstances, the Japanese government is busy trying to get things under control. It recently held an on-site meeting in the Fukushima Prefecture with TEPCO and decided to replace all of the 300 tanks that are of the same type as those from which contaminated water has been leaked. A ministerial meeting was convened on the same day as well, to come up with comprehensive measures within two months.