Fukushima: more than a million tons of water will be discharged into the ocean via an underwater tunnel

Japan has finally made a decision on how to discharge the thousands of tons of water stored at the Fukushima plant. The plant operator announced on Wednesday that they will be discharged into the sea using a large underwater tunnel.

This conduit should be 2.5 meters in diameter and over a kilometer long. The operator said on Wednesday that work to build this huge tunnel should begin in March. The tunnel will be drilled into the rock of the seabed near one of the power plant’s reactors, which survived the nuclear accident, said the Washington post. TEPCO, the company responsible for dismantling the plant, hopes to be able to start discharging the water in the spring of 2023.

Japan has long debated how to dispose of this wastewater. They come from rains, groundwater and systems used to cool the cores of the nuclear reactors of the plant.

In 2011, this cooling device was taken out of service due to a gigantic tsunami, which led to the meltdown of the reactors. These tonnes of liters have since been stored in more than 1,000 tanks on the site.

Preserving local fishing

The major problem with this wastewater is its pollution by radioactive substances. The Japanese authorities have however assured that they would be treated to remove these molecules before discharging the water into the sea. Only tritium cannot be eliminated, but in small quantities, this isotope is not dangerous. The authorities plan to dilute the wastewater in seawater, to reduce the concentration of radioactive molecules in the liquids that will be discharged.

According to the authorities, this underwater tunnel system should prevent water from returning to the coast, and thus preserve the activity of local fishermen. The government voted this week for the creation of a fund intended to cushion the consequences of these operations on the fishing sector. Tepco also said it was ready to financially compensate the impacted fishermen.

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