http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/
TEPCO TO INCREASE GROUNDWATER TESTING
The operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant says it will increase checks for strontium and tritium in groundwater near the damaged reactors.
Tokyo Electric Power Company workers detected the radioactive materials in groundwater taken from an observation well on the sea side of the No.2 reactor building. Company officials say they found no major changes in radiation levels in nearby seawater.
But they plan to set up more monitoring posts and observation wells. And they will reinforce nearby embankments to prevent contaminated groundwater reaching the sea.
TEPCO officials say wastewater spilled out into the sea near the No.2 reactor building in April 2011. They say highly radioactive materials might have seeped into the ground and ended up in the well about 30 meters from the sea.
Workers will also check a nearby underground tunnel to determine how the groundwater was contaminated.
Tokyo Electric has again drawn criticism for a delay in revealing the latest incident.
Workers took a sample of the groundwater on May 24th.
Officials at the plant were aware by May 31st that tritium levels were higher than the government-set level.
But they did not share the data with TEPCO executives until June 11th. It took another week for the company to make the data public.
TEPCO officials say they were waiting for results of strontium tests, which take longer. They apologized for the delay.
Jun. 19, 2013 - Updated 10:45 UTC
FUKUSHIMA PREF. COMPLAINS TO TEPCO
Fukushima Prefecture has demanded that Tokyo Electric Power Company quickly determine how the groundwater was contaminated with radioactive material, and take steps to prevent it leaking into the sea.
The prefecture summoned the utility's managing director, Akio Komori, to the prefectural government office on Wednesday.
Komori apologized for the trouble and pledged to determine its cause and to step up monitoring.
The head of the prefecture's environment division, Tetsuya Hasegawa, expressed disappointment that the trouble happened amid repeated requests to guarantee safety in handling contaminated wastewater in the process of scrapping the plant's reactors.
The prefecture later decided to step up its own monitoring of seawater near the plant.
Jun. 19, 2013 - Updated 10:32 UTC
"FROZEN WALL" CONSIDERED FOR NUCLEAR PLANT WATER
The operator of the disabled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant is still struggling to control the flow of groundwater into the reactor buildings 2 years after the accident.
A government panel is now proposing that a "frozen wall" be built around the buildings to prevent groundwater from seeping into the site.
The panel has been discussing measures against the groundwater since April when leaks were found in underground storage pools for contaminated water.
One measure being considered is to pump up the groundwater before it reaches the reactor site and release it into the ocean.
But the panel members say it would be difficult to contain 400 tons of groundwater per day. Fishermen also oppose the plan.
Another plan would be to bury coolant pipes and freeze the ground around the reactor buildings in order to make "frozen walls".
The panel members say the new plan comes with some technical difficulties. The operator would need to make sure that the groundwater level does not drop too much or else the contaminated water inside the site could seep out.
The panel will finalize the plan at a meeting on Thursday. It will call on the government and Tokyo Electric Power Company to urgently consider the plan.
