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Japan will start releasing treated radioactive water from the tsunami-hit Fukushima nuclear plant into the Pacific Ocean on Thursday, despite opposition from its neighbours. The decision comes weeks after the UN’s nuclear watchdog approved the plan. Some 1.34 million tonnes of water – enough to fill 500 Olympic-size pools – have accumulated since the 2011 tsunami destroyed the plant. The water will be released over 30 years after being filtered and diluted. Authorities will request for the plant’s operator to “promptly prepare” for the disposal to start on 24 August if weather and sea conditions are appropriate, Japan’s Prime Minister...

TOKYO, Dec 21 (Reuters) - The operator of Japan's crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant intends to build an underwater tunnel to release water from the plant into the sea, it said on Tuesday, as part of a project to treat and dispose of contaminated water.... ...Pumps would move the treated water from the tanks to the seashore and through a seabed tunnel to release it at a depth of 12 metres (40 ft), and about 1 km out at sea....

The Japanese government is planning on releasing millions of gallons of contaminated water into the ocean starting in 2022, according to international news reports. “170 tons of new radioactive wastewater is generated each day [at Fukushima] and is stored in 1,000 specially designed tanks,” Forbes reports. The government would begin to release the contaminated water into the ocean when the tanks being used to store it reach capacity. The final decision about whether or not to implement the plan is expected to be announced by November. The water is being treated to “reduce radioactivity,

Environmental authorities in Japan are planning to flush over one million tons of radioactive water into the ocean after running out of space to contain it, according to a report Tuesday from the Daily Telegraph.

Alaska fishermen and fish consumers shouldn't be concerned about the new disclosures of radioactive water leaking into the Pacific Ocean near the site of the hobbled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant in Japan.

Contaminated groundwater accumulating under the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant has risen 60cm above the protective barrier, and is now freely leaking into the Pacific Ocean, the plant’s operator TEPCO has admitted. The Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), which is responsible for decommissioning the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, on Saturday said the protective barriers that were installed to prevent the flow of toxic water into the ocean are no longer coping with the groundwater levels, Itar-Tass reports. The contaminated groundwater, which mixes with radioactive leaks seeping out of the plant, has already risen to 60cm above the barriers –...

Japan says it is taking steps to prevent contaminated water from the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant leaking into the sea. The plant's operator recently admitted for the first time that radioactive water was still going into the sea. A government spokesman said the authorities had taken immediate action. Workers were asked to act promptly to stop the leak as steam was seen rising from one of the reactor buildings for the second time in a week. On Tuesday, Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco) said steam was seen around the fifth floor of the building housing Reactor No 3 shortly after...

Fukushima nuclear plant operator Tepco on Monday admitted for the first time that radioactive groundwater is flowing into the sea, fueling fears that marine life is being poisoned. The admission came a day after voters handed the largely pro-nuclear Liberal Democratic Party of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe — and ally New Komeito — a handsome majority in the Upper House. Earlier this month, Tokyo Electric Power Co. said groundwater samples taken at the battered plant showed that levels of cesium-134 had shot up more than 110 times in a few days. Although unable to explain the increased readings, Tepco had...

Valve Flaw Found in TEPCO N-Plant's Water Cleanup Equipment Tokyo, June 23 (Jiji Press)--Tokyo Electric Power Co. <9501> said Thursday that it has detected problems with a valve in pipes for cesium-absorbing equipment, part of a system to clean radiation-contaminated water at its stricken Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power station in northeastern Japan. The announcement came after TEPCO found that the equipment was unable to absorb as much cesium as assumed. Following a check of all valves in the pipes through which contaminated water passes, TEPCO resumed test operations of the equipment early Thursday morning. The trial involves the treatment...

Fukushima to get 370 tanks for radioactive water (AFP) – 2 hours ago TOKYO — Hundreds of water tanks are to be sent to Japan's crippled Fukushima nuclear plant to hold thousands of tons of water contaminated in the effort to keep its reactors cool, the operator said Sunday. Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) has sourced 370 tanks with a total capacity for more than 40,000 tons of radioactive water, a company spokeswoman said. "Two of the tanks got on the way to the plant late Saturday," said TEPCO spokeswoman Ai Tanaka, adding that they would reach the site in...

Saturday, May 28, 2011 As nuke workers wait, tainted water climbs By KAZUAKI NAGATA While Tokyo Electric Power Co. plans to set up a water treatment facility in mid-June to decontaminate the thousands of tons of radioactive water being generated at the Fukushima No. 1 power plant, the utility must also find a safe place to store it before it leaks into the ground or finds its way to the sea. Compounding the problem are the reactors, which are believed to be ridden with cracks, holes or damaged pipes that are allowing the water being used to cool what's left...

Over 100,000 Tons of Polluted Water Seen at Fukushima N-Plant Tokyo, May 18 (Jiji Press)--The total amount of radiation-contaminated water at Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s <9501> crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant in northeastern Japan is estimated to top 100,000 tons, the company said Wednesday. The amount includes some 7,500 tons of water that have already been removed from the No. 2 and No. 3 reactor buildings, company officials said. At present, the combined amount of radioactive water at the power plant's No. 1 to No. 6 reactor facilities, including the basements of the reactor buildings and turbine buildings,...

Highly radioactive water removal continues, water level drops by 1 cm TOKYO, April 20, Kyodo The operator of the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant said Wednesday the level of highly radioactive water filling one of the underground tunnels at the site has dropped by 1 centimeter, a day after work to pump out the water started toward restoring the key cooling functions of the plant's troubled reactors. But the level did not drop further in the morning even as workers continued to transfer the water building up around the No. 2 reactor turbine building of the coastal Fukushima Daiichi plant and...

Contaminated water at crippled nuke plant estimated at thousands of tons Workers at the crippled Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant are now struggling to drain thousands of metric tons of radioactive water from the basements of its turbine buildings. According to the Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO)'s plan, the radioactive water that has accumulated in the turbine buildings is being pumped into condensers situated in the same structures. Condensers are devices that convert steam piped from the cores back into water. Six to 18 tons of radioactive water per hour has been pumped from the basement of the No....

You will not be surprised to hear that the events in Japan have changed my view of nuclear power. You will be surprised to hear how they have changed it. As a result of the disaster at Fukushima, I am no longer nuclear-neutral. I now support the technology. A crappy old plant with inadequate safety features was hit by a monster earthquake and a vast tsunami. The electricity supply failed, knocking out the cooling system. The reactors began to explode and melt down. The disaster exposed a familiar legacy of poor design and corner-cutting. Yet, as far as we know,...