Related News
Fukushima operator got radiation wrong
Print Edition
Japan’s nuclear regulator has criticized the operator of the stricken Fukushima plant for incorrectly measuring radiation levels in contaminated groundwater at the site.
Almost three years since the reactor meltdowns at the Fukushima Dai-ichi station, Tokyo Electric Power Co still lacks basic understanding of measuring and handling radiation, Nuclear Regulation Authority Chairman Shunichi Tanaka said yesterday. The utility has been widely criticized for an inept response to the March 2011 disaster.
Tepco said last week that groundwater drawn from a monitoring well last July contained a record 5 million becquerels per liter of dangerous radioactive strontium-90 — more than five times the total beta radiation reading of 900,000 becquerels per liter recorded in the well, 25 meters from the ocean.
Tepco said there was a calibration mistake with one machine measuring strontium levels of well water, and it had also found an error with devices that decipher all-beta radiation.
“Something like this cannot happen ... This (data) is what becomes the basis of various decisions, so they must do their utmost to avoid mistakes in measuring radiation,” Tanaka told reporters, though he added the mistake did not pose a serious safety risk at the plant.
The legal limit for releasing strontium 90, which has a half life of around 29 years, into the sea is 30 becquerels per liter.
A Tepco spokesman said the utility will recheck radiation readings of groundwater in light of the record strontium levels.
Last year, radiation leaks, power outages and other mishaps sparked international concern and prompted Japan’s government to step in with more funds and support. As part of a turnaround plan approved by the government last month, Tepco hopes to restart its biggest nuclear station, Kashiwazaki Kariwa, this summer.
Tepco in November began the hazardous process of removing fuel rods from the damaged No. 4 reactor building at Fukushima. It said last week it had removed about 9 percent of more than 1,500 unused and spent rods.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
