Research & Development World

  • Home Page
  • Topics
    • Aerospace
    • Archeology
    • Automotive
    • Biotech
    • Chemistry
    • COVID-19
    • Environment
    • Energy
    • Life Science
    • Material Science
    • R&D Market Pulse
    • R&D Management
    • Physics
  • Technology
    • 3D Printing
    • A.I./Robotics
    • Battery Technology
    • Controlled Environments
      • Cleanrooms
      • Graphene
      • Lasers
      • Regulations/Standards
      • Sensors
    • Imaging
    • Nanotechnology
    • Scientific Computing
      • Big Data
      • HPC/Supercomputing
      • Informatics
      • Security
      • Software
    • Semiconductors
  • 2021 R&D 100 Award Winners
    • R&D 100 Awards
    • 2020 Winners
    • Winner Archive
  • Resources
    • Digital Issues
    • Podcasts
    • Subscribe
  • Global Funding Forecast
  • Webinars

Radioactive water may overflow at Japan plant

By R&D Editors | August 6, 2013

The operator of the wrecked Fukushima nuclear power plant said Tuesday it is struggling with its latest efforts to stop contaminated underground water leaks from running into the sea.

Tokyo Electric Power Co. said that some of the water was seeping over or around a “liquid glass wall” it has created by injecting chemicals into the soil that solidify into a wall.

The latest problem involves underground water which has built up over the last month, since the company started creating the chemical walls in an embankment to stop leaks after it detected radiation spikes in water samples.

TEPCO spokesman Yoshikazu Nagai said the company was slow to deal with the underground water problem while focusing on the melted reactors, which pose greater risks.

Measures to contain contaminated underground water leaks have lagged while “we devoted ourselves to cool the reactors,” which was the foremost task, Nagai told The Associated Press.

The Fukushima Dai-ichi plant has suffered multiple meltdowns since the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami destroyed power and cooling systems. The plant still runs on makeshift equipment and has been plagued with blackouts and leaks from underground tanks.

TEPCO has been repeatedly criticized for delayed handling and disclosures of problems and mishaps at the plant.

Japan’s nuclear watchdog set up a special panel with TEPCO and met Friday to assess the water problem and discuss measures to resolve it. Watchdog officials have urged TEPCO to pump the contaminated water inland and expand underground and seawater sampling. TEPCO is also building more layers of chemical walls around the embankment.

Officials acknowledged last month for the first time that the plant has been leaking radioactive water into the ocean for some time. After a major leak a month after the meltdowns, TEPCO said it had contained the problem, and denied further underground leaks into the ocean until recently, though many experts have suspected that from early on.

Data provided by TEPCO showed underground water at coastal monitoring points has risen over the chemical wall, obviously leaking into the sea.

Related Articles Read More >

U.S. DOE grants $25M to advance clean hydrogen technologies for electricity generation 
SOLiTHOR seeds $10.6M to develop a new solid-state battery cell technology
Powering the moon: Sandia researchers design microgrid for future lunar base
Advanced Ionics secures $4.2M for decarbonization of industrial hydrogen production
2021 R&D Global Funding Forecast

Need R&D World news in a minute?

We Deliver!
R&D World Enewsletters get you caught up on all the mission critical news you need in research and development. Sign up today.
Enews Signup

R&D World Digital Issues

February 2020 issue

Browse the most current issue of R&D World and back issues in an easy to use high quality format. Clip, share and download with the leading R& magazine today.

Research & Development World
  • Subscribe to R&D World Magazine
  • Enews Sign Up
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
  • Drug Discovery & Development
  • Pharmaceutical Processing
  • 2022 Global Funding Forecast

Copyright © 2022 WTWH Media LLC. All Rights Reserved. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of WTWH Media
Privacy Policy | Advertising | About Us

Search R&D World

  • Home Page
  • Topics
    • Aerospace
    • Archeology
    • Automotive
    • Biotech
    • Chemistry
    • COVID-19
    • Environment
    • Energy
    • Life Science
    • Material Science
    • R&D Market Pulse
    • R&D Management
    • Physics
  • Technology
    • 3D Printing
    • A.I./Robotics
    • Battery Technology
    • Controlled Environments
      • Cleanrooms
      • Graphene
      • Lasers
      • Regulations/Standards
      • Sensors
    • Imaging
    • Nanotechnology
    • Scientific Computing
      • Big Data
      • HPC/Supercomputing
      • Informatics
      • Security
      • Software
    • Semiconductors
  • 2021 R&D 100 Award Winners
    • R&D 100 Awards
    • 2020 Winners
    • Winner Archive
  • Resources
    • Digital Issues
    • Podcasts
    • Subscribe
  • Global Funding Forecast
  • Webinars