Japan Press Weekly

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2013 July 24 - 30 [NUCLEAR CRISIS]

TEPCO silent about radiated water leak in Fukushima plant

Akahata editorial (excerpt)

It has come to light that while aware of the radioactive contaminated water from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant was leaking into the sea, Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO), its operator, had remained silent until the Upper House election was over. The radioactive water contaminates fish and shellfish in the sea. It is a matter of course that the utility’s dishonest behavior provoked harsh criticism from fishermen and local residents. TEPCO and other power companies are seeking the early restart of their nuclear power plants. These utilities lack the qualification to operate nuclear reactors as they give priority to profit over local residents’ safety. TEPCO should work to bring an end to the nuclear crisis and abandon its attempt to resume operations of its reactors.

Around 400 tons of groundwater is pouring into the crippled Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant every day. Many people have been expressing their concerns over the leakage of irradiated water into the sea. However, TEPCO had neglected to take appropriate measures to prevent the leak from happening. Since the end of May, much higher radiation levels than before have been detected in monitoring wells dug between the plant and the sea. Even after radioactive substances were found in the sea near the plant, the utility kept denying any leakage just until recently. This is a clear example of its dishonest and irresponsible behavior.

TEPCO said that it discovered a leakage of contaminated water on July 18, but it did not release the information until July 22, the day after the Upper House election. The Secretariat of the Nuclear Regulation Authority, despite receiving the report from TEPCO, said nothing about the leakage until then. If they kept their mouths shut in order to avoid impact on the election results, they should be held to account.

Two years and four months have passed since the Fukushima nuclear accident. It is yet to be brought under control. The biggest challenge is the disposal of radiation contaminated water. As groundwater is flowing into the damaged reactor buildings, the amount of toxic water keeps increasing and is being stored in tanks with nowhere to go. As there is no way to completely remove radioactive substances from the water, NRA Chairman Tanaka Shun’ichi proposed releasing the contaminated water into the sea after processing. The national government should also be held responsible along with TEPCO for the accident and use all means available to tackle the situation in an appropriate manner.