Only dew after all

April 3, 2015

TEPCO attributes 'leak' to dew

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/news/nuclear.html

Apr. 3, 2015 - Updated 10:43 UTC+2

The operator of the disabled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant says a pool of liquid found on a wastewater container on Thursday is dew or rainwater, and did not leak from the container.

Tokyo Electric Power Company, or TEPCO, says 25 liters of liquid pooled on the container's lid, and that some leaked from a vent when workers who found the liquid touched the container.

TEPCO says the liquid contained strontium and other beta ray-emitting substances at a rate of 3-million becquerels per liter, and radioactive cesium at 8,700 becquerels per liter. It says the wastewater, in comparison, has concentrations reaching tens of billions of becquerels.

The utility says the large discrepancy shows that the liquid is dew or rainwater that absorbed radioactive substances from the surrounding environment.

It also says a liter of liquid was found on top of another container at the site.

The containers are in a concrete structure. TEPCO says all of the pooled water remains in the building.

Radioactive water may have leaked at Daiichi plant

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/news/nuclear.html

Apr. 2, 2015 - Updated 18:12 UTC+2

Workers at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant have found a small amount of liquid that may have leaked from a container of highly radioactive wastewater.

The plant's operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company, says the workers detected the liquid on the lid of the container at around 1 PM on Thursday.

TEPCO says when the workers touched the container, a small volume of liquid leaked from a hole on the upper part. TEPCO surmised it is wastewater. The hole is to vent its gas.

The resin container measures 1.5 meters in diameter and 1.8 meters in height. The wastewater comes from a system to treat contaminated water. It includes substances such as magnesium and a high density of radioactive materials.
The utility says the liquid has not leaked out of a structure housing the container. The facility is made from concrete.

TEPCO says it will analyze the liquid's contents and determine why it has pooled on the lid. They add that depending on the results, they will also examine more than 670 containers in the same facility.