Toxic strontium found in Fukushima groundwater

TOKYO: Cancer-causing radioactive substances have been found in groundwater at the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant, its Japanese operator said yesterday, as it pledged to prevent them getting into the sea.
Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) said tests showed the highly toxic strontium-90, a by-product of nuclear fission that can cause bone cancer if ingested, was present at levels 30 times the permitted rate.
The firm said it had also detected tritium, a radioactive isotope of hydrogen used in glow-in-the-dark watches, at around eight times the allowed level.
“From groundwater samples we collected, we detected 500,000 becquerels per liter of tritium, that is very high,” a TEPCO official told a press conference.
The substances, which were released by the meltdowns of reactors at the plant in the aftermath of the huge tsunami of March 2011, were not absorbed by soil and have made their way into underground water.
Subsoil water usually flows out to sea, meaning these two substances could normally make their way into the ocean, possibly affecting marine life and ultimately impacting humans who eat sea creatures.
However, a TEPCO official said seawater data showed no abnormal rise in the levels of either substance.
He added the company believed the groundwater was largely contained by concrete foundations and steel sheets, and any gaps were being plugged with a material known as “liquid glass” that would solidify, forming a physical barrier.
The revelations are the latest in a growing catalogue of mishaps at the crippled plant, more than two years after the worst nuclear disaster the world has seen in a generation.
Workers used tons of water to cool the melted cores of the reactors and TEPCO is having to store this radioactive water on-site. However, reports continue to emerge of leaks in storage pools, tanks and pipes.
Critics say improvised fixes put in place at Fukushima since the disaster leave it vulnerable to problems and at the mercy of nature, with no immediate end in sight.
In a separate move, the Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) yesterday officially decided on the nation’s new safety requirements for reactors.
The regulations are expected to be approved by the government on July 8, paving the way for nuclear operators to apply for a safety assessment as a step toward restarting their idled reactors.
Only two of Japan’s 50 units are currently operating.