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Fukushima leak crisis worsens
New York Times - August 25, 2013
Tokyo Electric Power Company, or TEPCO, said on Friday that makeshift tanks holding more than 200,000 tonnes of radioactive water were vulnerable to leaks, there was no reliable way to check on them and there was nowhere to transfer the water.
The latest disclosures at Fukushima add to a list of recent mishaps, leaks and breakdowns since a powerful earthquake and tsunami set off meltdowns at three reactors more than two years ago.
TEPCO has built nearly 1000 tanks at the plant to store up to 335,000 tonnes of contaminated water, the product of coolant pumped into the reactors to keep their cores from overheating, and groundwater pouring into their breached basements at the rate of 400 tonnes a day.
TEPCO said last week one tank had sprung a huge leak. On Friday, the company said the situation was worse, admitting up to 220,000 tonnes of water was stored in makeshift steel tanks similar to the one that is leaking.
The company said the 12-metre-high cylindrical tanks, meant as temporary containers for the radiated water, had vulnerable rubber seals and that their ability to withstand radiation was untested.
The giant tanks are susceptible to leaks at the seams and through their concrete bases, according to the acting general manager of TEPCO's nuclear power division, Noriyuki Imaizumi.
A nearby drain could carry any leaked water into the sea, Mr Imaizumi said, and high radiation readings along one section suggest water had already travelled through the drain to the ocean.
The makeshift tanks lack water level gauges, making it difficult to detect leaks. Only two workers were assigned to check nearly 1000 tanks on two-hour patrols twice a day, Mr Imaizumi said.
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