Pumping operation

August 6, 2013

TEPCO plans pump at Fukushima plant to combat radioactive water leak

http://mainichi.jp/english/english/newsselect/news/20130806p2a00m0na022000c.html

Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) plans to pump water out of the ground near the stricken plant's sea wall to try and prevent more radioactive water from seeping into the ocean, the utility announced on Aug. 5.

Groundwater contaminated with radioactive substances from the No. 1 plant's stricken reactors has likely been flowing into the ocean with the rise and fall of the tide. To counteract the seepage, the Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) ordered TEPCO on Aug. 2 to pump out groundwater before it reaches the waterfront.

TEPCO's pumping plans call for sinking a well on the site and pumping out some 100 metric tons of groundwater per day. The above-ground storage tanks for contaminated water are, however, already almost full, and the utility is considering using the No. 2 reactor turbine building and other alternative sites to store the groundwater.

To prevent contaminated groundwater from reaching the ocean, TEPCO had already begun work on a subterranean wall made by applying sodium silicate -- or "liquid glass" -- to soil near the ocean, hardening it and creating a barrier. However, getting the wall all the way up to the last 1.8 meters beneath the surface is not technically feasible.

The NRA ordered the pumping operation after pointing out that TEPCO "should know that the measures now underway will not stop the leakage."

The well for the pumping operation will be sunk on the inland side of the plant grounds. TEPCO also announced it will step up radiation monitoring in the plant harbor and the nearby sea to track the impact of the radioactive water leak.