The operator of Japan’s crippled power plant has given its first public estimate of the size of the leakage of radioactive water that has been spilling into the ocean.
Reports are saying that 300 tons of radioactive water is now leaking into the Pacific Ocean from the Fukushima nuclear plant.
According to Reuters, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has ordered that the government step in and help in the clean-up effort.
According to Fox News, these are the first actual numbers that TEPCO has released since the massive tsunami led to the mealtdown at the Fukushima nuclear plant.
The report continued on to say that 20 trillion to 40 trillion becquerels of radioactive tritium has leaked into the sea since May 2011.
The leak is reportedly enough to fill an Olympic swimming pool in a week.
Fox News continued on to say that up until Wednesday, TEPCO has been saying that the radioactive tritium leak was around the level which ad been allowed under safety regulations.
The Inquisitr reported Monday that the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant is facing a new “emergency” caused by a build-up of radioactive groundwater.
The Fox News report goes on to say that a series of problems at the reactor site, including TEPCO’s secretiveness, has drawn blunt criticism at home and abroad.
Dale Klein, former head of the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission, told a panel in Tokyo the following:
“These actions indicate that you (TEPCO) don’t know what you are doing… you do not have a plan and that you are not doing all you can to protect the environment and the people.”
Reuters goes on to say that environmental group Greenpeace said TEPCO had “anxiously hid the leaks” and urged Japan to seek international expertise.
Dr. Rianne Teule of Greenpeace International said the following in an emailed statement:
“Greenpeace calls for the Japanese authorities to do all in their power to solve this situation, and that includes increased transparency…and getting international expertise in to help find solutions.”
With these new reports coming from TEPCO regarding the Fukushima radioactive water leaks, the company seems to be getting nothing more then criticism. Do you think TEPCO has handled the situation properly?
[Image by Kawamoto Takuo via Wikimedia Commons ]
