Basement of incineration building flooded with radioactive water

April 14, 2014

Over 200 tons of radioactive water pumped into wrong building at Fukushima plant

http://mainichi.jp/english/english/newsselect/news/20140414p2a00m0na008000c.html 

Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) said April 14 that 203 tons of highly radioactive waste water was transferred to a building at its crippled Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant by mistake.

It is believed the tainted water was delivered to the building, which was only supposed to store such water during emergencies, via temporary pumps. TEPCO officials said that the water contained 37 million becquerels per liter of radioactive cesium, but that there had been no leaks outside the building.

According to TEPCO, the contaminated water was found in the basement floor of an incineration building. Cesium removal equipment that is no longer used is located on the ground floor of the building.

On April 10, TEPCO officials noticed that the water level in two other storage facilities was fluctuating. When officials investigated, they found four temporary pumps that were only supposed to be used during emergencies running. The pump switches were located in the incineration building and another structure, and it is possible workers accidentally switched them on.

TEPCO reported the situation to the Secretariat of the Nuclear Regulation Authority under the Act on the Regulation of Nuclear Source Material, Nuclear Fuel Material and Reactors.

Separately on April 13, one ton of treated radioactive water leaked from a storage tank at the nuclear plant, apparently from a damaged part of the tank. This water was contaminated with 1,640 becquerels per liter of cesium and 11 becquerels per liter of strontium. None of the water was released into the sea, officials said.

April 14, 2014(Mainichi Japan)

April 13, 2014

Contaminated water wrongly transferred

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/news/20140414_09.html

The operator of the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant says highly contaminated water was mistakenly sent to a building that is neither a storage nor processing facility.

At the plant's No.1, 2 and 3 reactors, water is injected to cool melted nuclear fuel. The highly contaminated water is pumped out and sent to multiple storage buildings before it is sent to a processing facility.

Tokyo Electric Power Company officials say that between Thursday and Sunday they found the water level at storage facility buildings has not risen, but rather decreased.

Their investigation found that 4 pumps which were not supposed to be used were in operation.

The 4 pumps sent the contaminated water in a reverse direction, or into the basement of a facility known as the Incineration Workshop Building.

TEPCO officials estimate about 200 tons of highly- contaminated water leaked into the building. They say the radioactive cesium in the water is 37 million becquerels per liter.

The officials say that the contaminated water in the building should not leak outside as there is no direct connection between the basement and the outside.

They are closely watching the changes in the water level inside the building as well as the water quality of the wells in the surrounding area. They are also investigating the cause of the pumps' malfunction.

Apr. 13, 2014 - Updated 22:58 UTC