Enformable |
Posted: 12 Aug 2014 07:55 AM
PDT
Tokyo Electric has determined
that it will cease use of AREVA’s decontamination system, which uses
chemicals to remove radioactive materials from water, as it has not lived up
to expectations since it was installed. The utility will file an
application with the Nuclear Regulation Authority in order to scrap the
system.
The decontamination system was
set up in June 2011, three months after the onset of the Fukushima Daiichi
nuclear disaster. The design was so complicated that it took 50 welders
more than a month to put the system together. In the first three
months, the system processed 76,000 tons of contaminated water, but was
repeatedly forced to be shut down by a variety of problems.
For the last three years the
system has been unused and kept out of operations and in the meantime, TEPCO
has introduced a new system to process the ever-accumulating amounts of
contaminated water at the crippled plant.
One of the problems will be
dismantling and disposing of the decontamination system, as it has become contaminated
itself after processing the radioactive materials. The radiation levels
measured in the system posed a risk to workers during operation and
maintenance of the system.
TEPCO is still facing an uphill
battle when it comes to dealing with water storage at the Fukushima Daiichi
plant. Underneath the plant, an enormous amount of ground water
continues to flow directly into the ocean.
The utility has a limited
amount of water it can store in storage tanks on site, and need to both stem
the accumulation of contaminated water on site and the amount of contaminated
water reaching the Pacific Ocean.
Three months ago, TEPCO
attempted to divert some of the flow of ground water with an underground
bypass, but failed to achieve any meaningful results.
The utility filed another
application with the NRA this week, which if approved, would allow them to
construct a new system for the collection and discharge of contaminated
groundwater after it has been processed in order to remove some radioactive
materials back into the Pacific Ocean.
This new groundwater dumping
plan will likely face fierce opposition from local fisherman, who feel like
they have been making continual concessions for TEPCO – which will
undoubtedly affect the future of their own ability to operate, with little or
no results.
The post TEPCO to
abandon AREVA system amid contaminated water crisis appeared
first on Enformable.
This posting includes an
audio/video/photo media file: Download Now
|
No comments:
Post a Comment