Table of Contents
Is Fukushima still leaking radiation into the Pacific Ocean?
Japan’s government announced a decision to begin dumping more than a million tons of treated but still radioactive wastewater from the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant into the Pacific Ocean in two years.
What radiation did Fukushima release?
Releases from the Fukushima reactors have included dozens of radioactive elements, but with regard to materials released into the ocean, most of the attention has been on three radioactive isotopes released in large amounts: iodine-131, cesium-137, and cesium-134.
Why is Fukushima radioactive?
The report indicated the main source was iodine-134 with a half-life of less than an hour, which resulted in a radioactive iodine concentration 10 million times the normal value in the reactor.
Will Japan dump millions of gallons of radioactive water into the ocean?
The new Prime Minister of Japan, Yoshihide Suga, is facing additional international pressure over the weekend, amid reports that Japan will be accelerating plans to dump millions of gallons of radioactive water directly into the ocean.
Is Japan going to discharge water into the ocean?
That is why the Japanese government is reportedly going to approve a strategy of discharging the water to the ocean, as recommended by scientific advisers. The release would start in around 2022 and continue for decades.
Is Japan running out of space for nuclear waste?
Japan is now running out of space as it rushes to fully decommission the nuclear plant. The clean up has already cost the Japanese utility owner, Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), $200 billion. According to the Japanese Ministry of Environment, its tanks will be full by 2022.
When will Japan’s water crisis finally end?
The government says no final decision has been made. The release of more than a million tonnes of water, which has been filtered to reduce radioactivity, would start in 2022 at the earliest, according to Japanese media outlets including national dailies the Nikkei and the Yomiuri Shimbun.