In an embarrassing reversal from its earlier claims, the operator of Japan’s stricken Fukushima nuclear plant said that radioactive particles have been detected in groundwater flowing into the plant, an admission that could raise renewed questions about the company’s ability to handle the plant’s cleanup.
While the level of contamination is very low, its discovery amounts to an admission of error by the operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company, or Tepco, which had previously said that no particles had been detected in the water. The reversal, announced on Tuesday, is the latest in a string of mistakes and minor mishaps at the plant. Those mistakes have added to growing criticism of the government’s decision to leave the tricky cleanup in the hands of Tepco, the company that many blame for allowing the accident to happen in the first place.
The discovery could also create additional problems for Tepco by jeopardising its plans for alleviating a growing water crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi plant. The company has been struggling to slow groundwater that has been flowing into the basements of the damaged reactor buildings at a rate of 100,000 gallons per day, threatening the makeshift system that cools the crippled reactors. The water, which becomes highly contaminated once it comes in contact with the reactor buildings, must then be stored in huge metal tanks, which have filled every available space at the plant.
The company had hoped to reduce the influx by pumping some groundwater into the sea before it reaches the buildings. But, that plan needs the approval of residents, particularly commercial fishermen, in areas outside the evacuation zone immediately around the plant. Those fishermen have been slowly regaining their livelihoods since the triple meltdown two years ago. The company had been reassuring them that the water would not further contaminate the ocean.
The company said on Tuesday, though, that it had erred in the previous tests, and that the water in fact contained cesium, a byproduct of the meltdowns. Tepco said it had found up to 0.39 becquerel of radioactive cesium 137 per liter of water, an amount that is far below Japan’s safety level for drinking water, which is 10 becquerels per liter.
Still, it may be enough to scuttle or at least delay the company’s plan to pump groundwater into the sea. Just last week, Tepco had told local fishing cooperatives that levels of cesium in the groundwater were so low that they could not be detected. Those reassurances were met with intense skepticism by fishermen who, even before Tuesday’s admissions, said they no longer trusted any claims made by Tepco.
