An aerial view shows the No.3 reactor building at Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO)'s tsunami-crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Fukushima Prefecture, in this photo taken by Kyodo July 18, 2013.(Reuters / Kyodo)
TEPCO had previously denied suspicions that contaminated water had reached the sea, despite the fact that levels of potentially cancer-causing radioactive substances present in ground and seawater samples at the plant had soared.
"But now we believe that contaminated water has flown out to the sea," TEPCO spokesman Masayuki Ono said at a Monday news conference.
Comment: Interesting he says "now we believe" when it was always evident - Sheesh.
According to Ono, officials suspect that radioactive water leaked from the wrecked reactors, likely seeping into the underground water system before reaching the sea.
Earlier this month, TEPCO acknowledged that levels of radioactive cesium-134 in a well at the nuclear power plant jumped by 90 times in just three days. The company said the levels were at their highest point since the March 2011 disaster.
However, the company's spokesman insisted on Monday that the radioactive water's impact on the ocean would be limited.
"Seawater data has shown no abnormal rise in the levels of radioactivity," Ono said.
TEPCO said that based on water sample tests, the leaks stay near the plant reactors inside the bay.
Comment: In other words, noting to see here, just fish over there.
The announcement has confirmed alarming concerns addressed by Japan's nuclear watchdog, the Nuclear Regulation Authoirty (NRA). Earlier in July, the organization stated that it "strongly suspected" contamination of ground waters and possibly the Pacific Ocean.
The head of NRA also said he believed that contamination of the sea has been continuous since the accident in March 2011, when a massive earthquake and tsunami triggered three meltdowns in the Fukushima plant.
Comment: The NRC has been seen again and again to be impotent, they knew well in advance of the design problems, not just in Japan. Readers are reminded of what was said here by the NRC and TEPCO:
http://www.sott.net/article/245059-The-Worst-Yet-to-Come-Why-Nuclear-Experts-Are-Calling-Fukushima-a-Ticking-Time-Bomb
"More than a year after the triple meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant, the Japanese government, Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco) and the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) present similar assurances of the site's current state: challenges remain but everything is under control. The worst is over".And
http://www.sott.net/article/263763-Ya-think-Japans-Nuclear-Regulation-Authority-says-ocean-contamination-likely-at-Fukushima-leak-is-strongly-suspected
"We would like to offer our deep apology for causing grave worries for many people, especially for people in Fukushima," Masayuki Ono said.
It isn't profitable to fix the mess even if they knew what to do. They knew the plant was leaking into the Pacific for the last two years. Radiation levels are increasing again, emissions from ongoing fission. The leaking water tanks are giving off x-rays. A large earthquake might bring the tanks down dumping more radiation into the sea than has been released so far. Pacific fish and mammals are already suffering. Half the earths oxygen is generated by plankton. They won't admit how bad it is or how bad it is going to get. Over a thousand trained workers have already left the stricken plants.
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