Fukushima Operator to Dispose of Treated Water in the Ocean

The utility company operating the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant is under the spotlight once again. Tokyo Electric Power (Tepco) has recently announced it might be forced to dump water treated for radiation contamination in the ocean, because it could no longer have enough space to store more.

Their announcement has raised the anger of fisheries, thinking this risky operation could put the marine ecosystem at risk and influence in a negative manner their own profit margins, the Guardian reports.

If Tepco carries on with its disturbing plan, more than a few drops of water would end up in the ocean starting next year, in March. So far, tainted water is not going anywhere, and the amount grows by up to 500 tons on a daily basis.

It seems that increasing the number of water tanks currently used by the company is not a viable option, according to its officials. So far, the facility stores 155,000 tons and, by March, it could no longer accommodate more. Under these circumstances, the company is looking for risk-free options that will have to meet the government's approval.

Experts say the authorities shouldn't give green light to a hazardous strategy of dumping treated water into the ocean, focusing instead on semipermanent storage options, considered to be the best alternative.

The fact that Tepco seems keen on exploiting the proposed initiative has bothered a large number of representatives from fishing co-operatives, that visited Tokyo headquarters to express their point of view.

As a response to their claims, the company said it would still analyze the impact of tainted water on the environment, but also declared that, "if forced," it would continue putting theory into practice.

While dealing with the effects of the Fukushima disaster, Tepco representatives tried to cool the damaged reactors, affected by nuclear fuel meltdowns, by using a ton of water, some of it coming from the sea. Now all they have to do is figure out how to handle all that treated water, since an irresponsible disposal is highly unrecommended.