Pumping up groundwater starting on April 9

April 8, 2014

Motegi on Fukushima groundwater release into sea

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/news/20140408_25.html 

Japan's industry minister Toshimitsu Motegi says the government and Tokyo Electric Power Company, or TEPCO, will soon start preparations to dump groundwater into the sea at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

Fishery cooperatives in Fukushima Prefecture on Friday consented to a plan to pump up groundwater before it can be mixed with highly radioactive water in the basement of the reactor buildings. TEPCO will release the water into the sea.

The plan is considered key in tackling an increase in the volume of contaminated water that's hampering efforts to scrap the damaged plant.

Motegi said on Tuesday that groundwater will be pumped up on a test basis soon for procedural checks as well as a detailed analysis of water quality.
He said the work will take about one month.

He noted that radiation checks will be strictly carried out for the groundwater. He added that a third party will join TEPCO in the process and the government will monitor the work.

The government and TEPCO earlier promised to make sure that radiation levels of released groundwater will meet safety standards.

The government hopes to start to release groundwater into the sea next month, at the earliest.

Apr. 8, 2014 - Updated 04:25 UTC

April 8, 2014

 Fukushima groundwater to be pumped up Wed.

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/news/20140408_29.html 

The government and Tokyo Electric Power Company will begin pumping up groundwater at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant on Wednesday. The water is expected to be released into the sea next month.

This will mark the start of one of several key measures to reduce the increasing volume of radiation-contaminated water at the facility.

According to the plan, clean groundwater that flows from the mountains near the plant will be pumped up before it can mix with highly contaminated water in the basements of the reactor buildings. The groundwater will then be released into the ocean.

The government and TEPCO decided to move ahead with the operation after fishery cooperatives in Fukushima Prefecture consented to the project on Friday.

The fishermen gave their approval on condition that the released groundwater meets strict environmental safety standards. They also require a third party to be involved in the inspection and discharge process.

TEPCO says it will take about one month to analyze the groundwater quality in detail. If there are no problems, it will begin releasing the water into the sea in May.

The Fukushima Prefectural Federation of Fisheries Cooperative Associations says decisions on whether to allow the groundwater discharge can be made only after stringent analysis of its radiation levels.

Apr. 8, 2014 - Updated 07:58 UTC