Wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant leaked radioactive water, TEPCO says

I'm expecting a flood of pro-China/pro-Russia/anti-Japan commentators to jump on this as "evidence" that TEPCO and the IAEA can't be trusted to do their jobs. Before they do, I will say:

1) Decommissioning is hard, and there will be problems like this. Furthermore, the Fukushima decommissioning is of an unprecedented difficultly level

2) The work needs to be done, no matter how hard it is and even if problems occur. Japan must move forward with this, and it is doing so

3) The fact that we're hearing about this problem is a good thing. It shows that there's transparency in the operations

4) Per the article, "no radioactive water escaped the compound." That's an important fact that will no doubt be glossed over by these commentators

5) The problem will be investigated and, hopefully, addressed with technical and operational measures

6) The IAEA is monitoring all operations with international experts. And yes, that includes experts from China, Russia, and many other countries

Operator error

Cheers,TEPCO.

The gift that keeps on giving.

I bet all of those overly paid execs from 3/11 don't give a fig and are hitting the golf courses in Okinawa.

Another slap in the face from J-Inc.

I'd really appreciate it if the IAEA could conduct an on-site investigation instead of relying on hearsay.

lunaticToday 05:12 pm JST

I'd really appreciate it if the IAEA could conduct an on-site investigation

It does conduct on-site investigations, as I and others have told you several times.

It even has an office at the plant.

https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2023/07/9e88ebdcdc7e-iaea-chief-attends-meetings-in-fukushima-amid-water-discharge-worries.html

instead of relying on hearsay.

It doesn't.

I'd really appreciate it if the IAEA could conduct an on-site investigation instead of relying on hearsay.

Next, they will tell you how to do you work!

TEPCO said that 10 of 16 valves that should have been closed were left open during the flushing, and the leak stopped when the valves were closed.

Slight oversight no worries.

It's only highly radioactive water anyway

Radioactive water but no mention of it being "highly radioactive".

And this kind of operation will go on for decades or more. Are our Japan apologists paid by the word. They do tend to ramble.

NOBODY's Surprised at ALL at the Leaks, except that it took nearly 13 years to come clean!

There is no bigger grift than nuclear power.

we all are lucky because we can get the latest updates, honest and accurate updates from TEPCO and Japan. Trust me, if this happen in china, next minutes it will become something never happen, vanish from all the medias and reporters. Everything suddenly becomes so peaceful, flowery and easy again. believe me, it just happen for one second. next second all is solved and hidden from you

But at least heads roll in China, here there's been no accountability or willingness to admit dangerous reality of nuclear power in world's earthquake capital.

Remember when Dai-3 melted down and had a massive explosion on live TV?

TEPCO told us it was just water.

Then, when the radiation peaked in Tokyo, TEPCO didn't inform us until over three months later.

And the radiation numbers? They were low because TEPCO was measuring them two meters above ground.

Haven't you learned already not to trust TEPCO?

We got to believe everything TEPCO says, right.

TEPCO= highly untrustworthy!!!!

So if 10 out of 16 valves were accidentally left open, that sounds more like a ‘flow’ than a ‘leak’. Having trouble picturing what this paragraph means, though, and how it relates to ‘air vents’.(?)

Quote: “The leak may have been caused by valves accidentally left open while workers flushed the machine with filtered water. TEPCO said that 10 of 16 valves that should have been closed were left open during the flushing, and the leak stopped when the valves were closed.”

Are the public in Japan and, in the world such fools to believe that nothing harmful has resulted from this considerable leak of Radio Active Water into the Pacific Ocean? And spread around the world because of Ocean Currents?

The World Should Now Avoid Buying JapaneseSea Food!

You mean like a difficultly even noticing that 2 swimming pools worth of radioactive water had leaked out of an air vent ?

yes, next time just follow suits Chernobyl style, seal the site, seal the news. end of story. Tomorrow is another normal day again. Maybe this is the scenes you are seeking right? Mind you, from 1986 until now, Chernobyl still is an elephant inside the room, and nobody knows what is happening deep inside the reactors there. To tell you all the cruel reality, you are happy/unaware of Chernobyl, because no medias are reporting it! because the authorities never release a single updates!!!

PseudonymouseToday 06:36 pm JST

You mean like a difficultly even noticing that 2 swimming pools worth of radioactive water had leaked out of an air vent ?

They did notice. Hence this report.

Enough said is a bel end

Thank you for the insult. That really helps the debate.

HopeSpringsEternalToday 06:36 pm JST

here there's been no accountability or willingness to admit dangerous reality of nuclear power in world's earthquake capital.

The execs at TEPCO responsible resigned and faced trial, and TEPCO has to pay for the decommissioning and compensation. That is accountability.

And with regard to "dangerous reality," nuclear power is as safe as anything else if you do it properly. Unfortunately, those TEPCO execs didn't, resulting in the 2011 accident.

But at least heads roll in China

Were this China, the government would still be denying the accident ever happened, and conducting economic aggression on anyone who questioned them. Just like COVID.

lunaticToday 06:42 pm JST

Remember when Dai-3 melted down and had a massive explosion on live TV?

What is Dai-3? There's only Dai-ichi and Dai-ni in Fukushima.

Are you talking about unit 3 of Dai-ichi? If so, TEPCO didn't even know what the cause was to begin with. But they announced this when they did know, and the whole accident was investigated in a transparent manner by the IAEA, which produced a comprehensive report.

https://www.iaea.org/publications/10962/the-fukushima-daiichi-accident

Haven't you learned already not to trust TEPCO?

No-one needs to trust them if they don't want to. That's what the IAEA is there for.

And, as I've said to you before, if you don't trust the IAEA there's no way to convince you. So I won't bother trying.

MarkToday 06:46 pm JST

We got to believe everything TEPCO says, right.

Per the above, no.

And spread around the world because of Ocean Currents?

last i checked, from last year August until now, not a single person from the world total population of 8 billion, becomes zombie because of consuming the radioactive polluted seafoods. or not a single person reports even a slightly dizzy or headache or stomached because of the polluted seafoods. Only fools will believe in china propaganda machine

Stephen ChinToday 07:19 pm JST

Are the public in Japan and, in the world such fools to believe that nothing harmful has resulted from this considerable leak of Radio Active Water into the Pacific Ocean?

That is highly unlikely, because it didn't leak into the Pacific Ocean.

Per the article, and my original point 4, "no radioactive water escaped the compound." And this will be checked by the IAEA.

You may be talking about the treated water release, which is a separate issue. We can discuss that on the next article about it, as the same, tired disinformation will certainly be regurgitated then.

The taxpayer is picking up the tab for the decommissioning which will reach ¥100 trillion.

@onigiri

You need to go and visit Kashiwa.

You’ll find evidence of what you don’t believe is possible many miles from Fukushima

kurisupisu, I am in the dark here as to your meaning. Can you provide something a little more concrete, like a link, or an explanation?

wallaceToday 08:03 pm JST

The taxpayer is picking up the tab for the decommissioning

This is incorrect.

TEPCO is paying within its means (the amount of which will change depending on its financial situation, and subject to the approval of its business plan by the government). Any shortfall - and there will definitely be a shortfall, as the amount is enormous - will have to be made up by the taxpayer.

No-one knows yet how much the taxpayer will have to pay. If TEPCO does well financially, the amount will be lower; if it does badly, the amount will be higher.

isabelle

wallaceToday 08:03 pm JST

The taxpayer is picking up the tab for the decommissioning

This is incorrect.

51% of TEPCO is owned by the taxpayer. The nuclear liability law limits the costs of a nuclear accident to ¥120 billion.

The taxpayer has paid out more than ¥25 trillion to date.

¥30 billion to build the ice wall.

TEPCO is indeed trying to pay more than what is required but it will never be able to cover the full costs.

We are all paying a charge in our monthly power bills to help with the costs.

The execs at TEPCO responsible resigned and faced trial, and TEPCO has to pay for the decommissioning and compensation. That is accountability.

Executives at TEPCO did not face criminal trials for the Fukushima disaster.

Some resigned due to public pressure, while others cited accountability or a desire to facilitate change within the company.

That's why do not eat Japan seafood. Alot of things is still covered up!

Really competent, those TEPCO guys!

lunaticToday 09:01 pm JST

Executives at TEPCO did not face criminal trials for the Fukushima disaster.

Yes, they did. They faced both civil and criminal trials.

...

https://edition.cnn.com/2023/01/18/asia/japan-fukushima-nuclear-disaster-tepco-ruling-intl-hnk/index.html

The criminal case against the executives follows a civil case in which a Tokyo court in July 2022 ordered the three men – along with Tepco’s former President Masataka Shimizuto – to pay 13 trillion yen ($95 billion) in damages to the operator of the wrecked plant.

...

For the record, from what I've read, they would seem to be guilty of what they were accused of (professional negligence resulting in death), as they were told about possible tsunami heights but didn't sufficiently guard against this. But I'm not the high court.

wallaceToday 09:01 pm JST

TEPCO ... will never be able to cover the full costs.

Yes, as I said. And, as I also said, we don't know what that final cost will be, or how much of it TEPCO will be able to pay.

isabelle

Yes, as I said. And, as I also said, we don't know what that final cost will be, or how much of it TEPCO will be able to pay.

Some economic experts put the final costs at more than ¥80 trillion.

To date, about ¥30 trillion over 13 years. The period will be more than 50 years.

isabelle

I will never know the final costs of the nuclear disaster or what the outcome was. I guess many others won't too.

It's typical TEPCO.

They haven't been able to control also radioactive contaminated water or also wrecked nuclear plants.

Besides, Japan's nuclear industries always try to make serious issues announce smaller less than actual state.

Incompetence brought about the melt down and incompetence is asked to clean up its incompetence. You don’t think there will be trouble?

Deflect and blame it on the earthquake and the CPC or now disinformation. It was on NHK. TEPCO has a history of hiding its incompetence.

We told you so Isabella.

Besides, Japan's nuclear industries always try to make serious issues announce smaller less than actual state.

TEPCO has a history of doing so and this is no confirmation bias.

TEPCO reports are written to permit deliberately a certain level of opacity to lessen investor or public anxiety. It seeks in some way to mislead by misrepresenting or concealing unpleasant facts.

Interesting NOTHING IS SAFE, if so they wouldn't be calling this an accident! No matter how much protection you have accidents will unfortunately happen. The magnitude of the response from it has a lot to do with the risk and the results. Accidents means there is no safety and safety means there's no accidents.

@Pseudonymouse

Princes, I know you may disagree but your comment does not make sense.

Maybe reading is not your strongest part.

Anyway as I made clear, you are also one of "I know better" but don't act.

Secondly if you are so worried maybe you need to check how much China is currently releasing and all the barrels which are sunk in the oceans in the 70s and 80s by many countries. But you don't mention that because you only consider Japan. If you are so concerned than be more active but I guess you scared to give up your own life and ask other people to the the work and meanwhile you complaining safely from behind your pc.

TRUST TEPCO, we will be just fine.

Total incompetence. Looks like no one inspected the valves for days and there were probably no monitoring cameras or sensors. Tepco should let Boeing take over the decommissioning and clean up. At least they could do a better job.

Iaea now knows about the incident, tepco has already reported it.

I guess iaea will now make sure that everything will be all right as some idiot surely has claimed already

The plant worker mentioned was a contractor btw, wonder if that's significant