Six Telling Figures from Japan’s Leaking Fukushima Nuclear Plant
New revelations that the damaged Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant in Japan is leaking more radioactive groundwater than previously thought have prompted Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to say Wednesday that the government will step in and “take firm measures” to help solve the problem.
Arjun Makhijani, an electrical and nuclear engineer who is president of the Institute for Energy and Environmental Research in Maryland provided the following numbers to PBS News Hour to consider about the plant:
300 tons
The new amount of radioactive groundwater the Japanese government estimates has been leaking into the Pacific Ocean each day since soon after the nuclear plant’s meltdown, following the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami.
700,000 liters
Daily volume of cooling water, plus the water entering into building basements due to rain and from groundwater, that must be managed at the site.
100 degrees Celsius (or 212 degrees Fahrenheit)
Temperature at which Tokyo Electric Power Co. cools the three damaged reactors, using a water injection system, to keep them stabilized.
33,000 becquerels/liter (Bq/L)
The amount of Cesium-134 and Cesium-137 in the contaminated groundwater reported at the site in July. (U.S. drinking water maximum contaminant level: about 4 Bq/L; Japan’s emergency limit is 60 Bq/L for Cesium-134 and 90 Bq/L for Cesium-137)
136 miles
Distance between the Fukushima nuclear power plant and Japan’s capital Tokyo. PBS NewsHour science correspondent Miles O’Brien reported in March 2012 that grocery stores in Tokyo were posting cesium levels next to produce grown in Fukushima to try to calm customers’ concerns.
$300-$400 million
Estimated cost of building a new containment system that the Japanese government is considering — a frozen underground wall to block water from escaping, reported the Associated Press.
ref: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/2013/08/fukushima-numbers.html
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