The situation at Fukushima now warrants allowing a release of contaminated water into the ocean which exceeds regulatory limits because it will free up space in the tanks for water which is more contaminated. TEPCO has been granted permission to release 10,000 tons contaminated water which is being classified as low level contamination, but it exceeds the normal allowable level by 100 times. Without a cooling system, the continuous injection of water for cooling into the Units 1, 2, and 3 reactors will continue to produce highly contaminated water. Expect to see additional waivers granted as the inventories of water build up.
A leak of highly contaminated water directly into the ocean from a pit near Unit 2 was found on April 2. One report indicated the flow to be 7 tons per hour. Two attempts were made to plug the leak by dumping plugging materials in a suspected tunnel. Neither attempt worked. They have determined the water was coming from multiple paths. They are now attempting to capture the water which is leaking out by enclosing the pit into which it is spewing and plugging the multiple pathways from the water source. As with other situations, this work is dangerous because they are dealing with very high levels of radiation.
There are also reports of samples from the ground water taken at the site showing radioactive materials. If this is true, radioactive contaminants in the water table creates a flow path which is very difficult to control.
There are also reports of samples from the ground water taken at the site showing radioactive materials. If this is true, radioactive contaminants in the water table creates a flow path which is very difficult to control.
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