Saturday, December 21, 2013

#Fukushima I NPP: Radioactive Cesium, All-Beta Detected from Groundwater Sample 25 Meters from the Ground Surface


The groundwater sample from the observation hole dug 25 meters from the ground surface in between the turbine buildings for Reactor 3 and Reactor 4 (No. H25J7) was found with:

  • Cesium-134: 1.6 Bq/Liter

  • Cesium-137: 2.8 Bq/L

  • All-beta: 67 Bq/L


after dirt particles were filtered out.

So far, radioactive materials (cesium, all-beta, tritium) have been detected from groundwater samples from the shallower, upper permeable layer. This is the first detection of radioactive materials from the groundwater below the level of the in-the-ground impermeable wall made of waterglass that is still being built closer to the plant harbor.

TEPCO says (handout for the press, 12/20/2013) they don't know whether that means:

  1. The lower permeable layer (25 meters from the ground surface) is contaminated; or

  2. Radioactive materials entered the groundwater when the observation hole was dug; or

  3. The water from the upper permeable layer somehow entered the lower permeable layer; or

  4. The water got contaminated when it was being sampled.


The handout shows the particular location (observation hole No. H25J7) to be close to the turbine buildings of Reactor 3 and Reactor 4:


As far as I'm aware, it is only TV Asahi who covered this news on December 20:


Japanese net citizens on Twitter and message boards who heard about the news (it doesn't look to be many) are all doom and gloom, having already come to the conclusion that the lower permeable layer is contaminated (TEPCO's hypothesis No.1).

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

The first impression/idea is usually the right one...My first impression when I saw the high resolution pics of Fukushima blown up NPP's: How on earth are the ever going to fix this? This is impossible, this can never be 'fixed'.
I remember that stil very clearly, I was completely knock of my socks and some feeling of desperation came over me.

Now, after more than two and half years, that feeling of desperation is often coming back to me, seeing how Tepco and Japanese gov. is 'handling' this. desaster.

Of course other options that Tepco is mentioning could maybe possible... but how likely is that?

And there is still a fair chance they know the real reason, which we might hear after a year or two. Oh wait a sec, with this new secrecy law we can forget that too. So too asume the worst, untill otherwise is proven, seems to me a proven way to go.

Anonymous said...

Japan is dying

Anonymous said...

The nuclear industry acknowledges someone's health has been affected by radioactive contaminants if and only if this is proven beyond any doubt *and* the are no other potential concurrent causes (e.g. a smoker cannot possibly be affected by radioactive contamination).
Along the same line, Tepco will admit to the most reasonable hypothesis only when they have no other choice whatsoever. By the time they do that, sometimes it is too late for the information to be valuable. You know, business is business.
Beppe

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