TEPCO begins 2nd round of treated, diluted water release from Fukushima Daiichi

TOKYO, Oct 06 (NHK) - The operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant has begun its second round of the release of treated and diluted water from the crippled plant into the sea.

The nuclear plant in northeastern Japan suffered a triple meltdown in the 2011 earthquake and tsunami.

Water used to cool molten nuclear fuel mixes with rain and groundwater, and is stored in some 1,000 tanks within the plant compound.

The accumulated water is treated to remove most radioactive substances, but still contains tritium.

On Tuesday, Tokyo Electric began preparing for the second release by adding about 1,200 tons of seawater to one ton of treated water. The mixture is stored in a pit called a discharge vertical shaft to check the degree of dilution.

The tritium level was found to be 63 to 87 becquerels per liter, well below Japan's environmental release standard of 60,000 becquerels and the utility's own limit of 1,500 becquerels.

The second release started at 10:18 a.m. on Thursday. ...continue reading

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