Japan plans to release more than a million tonnes of radioactive water from the destroyed Fukushima nuclear station into the sea.
Context
Japan plans to release more than a million tonnes of radioactive water from the destroyed Fukushima nuclear station into the sea.
The reason behind the contamination of water
- Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc (Tepco), the Japanese plant operator of 3 earthquake hit and the tsunami-damaged nuclear reactor, is struggling to store the contaminated cooling water.
- The accumulating water has been stored in tanks at the Fukushima Daiichi plant since 2011 and its capacity is going to full by next year. So, it is much needed to release the contaminated water to avoid any future mishappening.
- The company was, since, using a makeshift system of pumps and piping to inject water into damaged reactor vessels to keep melted uranium fuel rods cool.
- This water gets contaminated as it comes in contact with the fuel.
- The ice wall was also built around the damaged reactors but could not help.
About the plan
- The contaminated water will be filtered to remove isotopes that will leavethe only tritium, a radioactive isotope of hydrogen hard to separate from water.
- The water will be diluted then until the tritium levels fall below regulatory limits.
- Then the water will be released into the sea.
- Water containing tritium is routinely released from nuclear plants around the world and releasing the Fukushima water to the ocean is supported by regulatory authorities.
Tritium
- It is a beta-emitting radioactive isotope of hydrogen.
- Its nucleus consistsof one proton and two neutrons.
- It is three times heavier than a hydrogen nucleus.
- Tritium is considered to be relatively harmless because it does not emit enough energy to penetrate human skin.
- Its ingestion can raise cancer risks.
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Concerns over the plan
- It can directly impact the safety of people and the environment.
- It could be harmful to fishing and the food chain.
