Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) conducted a probe after higher-than-usual levels of radioactive material were detected in rainwater in the dike around a storage tank
An inspection found that some water had leaked from cracks of about four centimeters on a hose being used for transferring radioactive wastewater
TEPCO analyzed water in the dike around the tank and detected up to 67,000 becquerels of tritium per liter, which exceeded 60,000 becquerels, the standard set by the Japanese government for releasing tritium into the environment
okay, so were they lying abt the water being “safe” to discharge? or did it concentrate by 12%+ in the past couple months?
TEPCO said that someone caused the cracks with a cutter blade while removing the packaging around the hose after it was delivered
great QC standards!
TEPCO added that the leak would not affect the plan to discharge the radioactive wastewater from the plant into the ocean
oh really? sure, release water that isnt safe even by the arbitrary standards your own government put in place. im sure the government will step in and stop this
Despite strong opposition from neighboring and Pacific island countries, as well as local fishermen over the irreversible impacts on the marine environment and public health, the Japanese government and TEPCO have been pushing for release of the radioactive wastewater from the Fukushima nuclear power
The discharge is supposed to be 1,500 Bq/L compared to the WHO drinking water standards of 10,000 Bq/L, so 67,000 Bq/L is worse than it seems here. But on the other hand, 67,000 Bq/L is not a disaster. Drinking 2 liters of it for a year would put you at about the same radiation dose as flight attendants. Anyway, this better get fixed soon.
thanks for the context!
Yeah no problem. Radiation is really complicated and has lots of ways to measure it, so I did a little research on this story like a month ago and had some notes lying around.