Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant

In what is becoming a macabre "Comedy of Errors," TEPCO officials are again beset with problems at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant. This time, they are blaming the accidental dumping of 200 tons of radioactive water into the wrong place on four pumps. The blame for the accidental dumping of 200 tons of highly radioactive water into a group of buildings used to house the central waste processing facilities last Friday is being blamed on four pumps that were not supposed to be used, but were mysteriously "turned on" by a party or parties unknown. What is really interesting about this story is the fact that the accident was first noticed on Thursday, April 10, but the pumps were not turned off until two days later, on April 13. Recreating the incident, TEPCO officials said the water used for cooling down the molten reactors becomes highly radioactive. The water was supposed to be directed to a storage building used for that purpose, where it is then transferred to a facility for decontamination at a later date. But on April 10, workers noticed that the water level in the buildings that should have been having water pumped out of them was going up, instead of down. Two days later, on April 12, it was finally discovered that the four pumps, supposedly not being used were turned on. Right here, there should be an investigation into why the pumps were still on-line, especially if they were not in use. All four pumps were turned off around 5 p.m. of the 13th. By that time, 200 tons of radioactive water had flooded the wrong buildings. TEPCO reported the incident to the Nuclear Regulatory Authority at that time. The NRA instructed TEPCO to start monitoring the situation so that no leakage would escape the buildings or the facility. Just to make things even more interesting, TEPCO reported another, separate incident on April 13, when one ton of treated radioactive water escaped a leaking storage tank. TEPCO officials said none of the water escaped into the sea. Local authorities have repeatedly asked that TEPCO pinpoint the causes for the numerous problems at the disabled power plant, but TEPCO officials have said very little about any of the problems. In February, over 100 tons of contaminated water leaked from a storage tank due to a deliberately opened valve. According to TEPCO officials, over 100 workers have been interviewed, and so far, no one knows exactly what happened.

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