Japan Times: Discharges of Fukushima nuclear material into Pacific “have effectively contaminated the sea” — Melted reactor cores will burn again if water not perpetually poured in — 'Tepco proposing some of it be dumped into ocean'
Source: The Japan Times
Author: Reiji Yoshida
Date: May 21, 2013
[...] Tepco must perpetually pour water over the melted cores of reactors 1, 2, and 3 via makeshift systems to prevent the fuel from melting and burning again. [...]
Tepco is proposing some of the water be dumped into the sea after processing it to remove most, but not all, radioactive isotopes. [...]
Previous discharges into the Pacific have effectively contaminated the sea. Failure to store it means it will probably flood the whole compound and end up in the ocean anyway. [...]
Will the processed water pose health or environmental risks?
According to Tepco, the processed water could theoretically be safe [...]
Tritium is the exception, however. Tepco says the tritium level in the contaminated water is between 1 million and 5 million becquerels per liter. The legal limit is 60,000. [...]