□ Reporter Suning
According to Japan's "Mainichi Shimbun" report, in response to the nuclear-contaminated water leakage accident that occurred at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant on February 7, Tokyo Electric Power Company announced the results of its investigation on February 15, saying that the leak was caused by the staff not closing the manual valve. .
For a long time, Tokyo Electric Power Company has had a series of accidents in the process of treating nuclear contaminated water. The occurrence of this accident fully exposed the chaotic and disorderly internal management of Tokyo Electric Power Company and the ineffective supervision of the Japanese government. It once again proved that the nuclear-contaminated water treatment equipment does not have long-term reliability. The outside world has every reason to be worried about Japan's discharge of nuclear-contaminated water. At the same time, the nuclear-contaminated water leakage accident has once again highlighted the necessity of establishing effective international monitoring with full and substantive participation of stakeholders.
Excuse the leak again
According to Japan's Kyodo News Agency, on the morning of February 7, a leak occurred in the nuclear contaminated water purification equipment located at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant of Tokyo Electric Power Company, causing the leakage of approximately 5.5 tons of nuclear contaminated water. The leaked water contained radioactive cesium and strontium. The content is estimated to be as high as 22 billion becquerels. Although Tokyo Electric Power Company argued that the leak had "no impact outside the nuclear power plant site," reports indicate that the radiation dose in the underground soil at the leak point reached 350 times the radiation dose in the surrounding area.
Since most of the leaked water seeped into the ground, Tokyo Electric Power Company began recycling soil around the leak point on the 8th. As of the 14th, 27 cubic meters of contaminated soil had been recovered, and soil recovery operations will continue until the radiation dose value returns to normal levels.
The equipment that caused the leakage accident was between the accident nuclear reactor and the multi-nuclide removal equipment (ALPS), which was used to adsorb and remove radioactive cesium and strontium from the nuclear-contaminated water flowing through the reactor core. On the 7th, the equipment was undergoing cleaning operations, and nuclear contaminated water was found flowing out of the exhaust port connected to the equipment. TEPCO's subsequent investigation found that 10 of the 16 valves that should have been manually closed according to operating procedures were open. The company announced its investigation results on the 15th, saying that the leak was caused by the staff not closing the manual valve.
After the accident, Japan's Atomic Energy Regulatory Commission verbally instructed Tokyo Electric Power Company to make every effort to recover the leaked nuclear-contaminated water and strengthen monitoring of surrounding drainage channels to prevent the spread of nuclear contamination. The local government of Fukushima Prefecture not only asked Tokyo Electric Power Company to find out the cause of the accident, but also asked it to take measures to prevent the accident from happening again. Fukushima Prefecture Crisis Management Minister Watanabe Hitoshi mentioned with concern the nuclear contaminated waste liquid splash accident that occurred in October last year, and asked Tokyo Electric Power Company to further strictly implement safety management responsibilities.
However, Tokyo Electric Power Company’s “several criminal record” does not reassure anyone. The company has been exposed to fraud and accident scandals dozens of times in its history; after the Fukushima nuclear accident in 2011, Tokyo Electric Power Company not only failed to learn its lessons, but also tried to conceal the fact that the reactor core melted down, and continued to do so in subsequent nuclear power projects. It ignores safety and refuses to correct its mistakes. Regarding the disposal of nuclear contaminated water, Tokyo Electric Power Company broke its promise and forced the discharge of nuclear contaminated water into the sea.
What’s even more infuriating is that even with the outside world’s recent repeated appeals to Tokyo Electric Power Company, accidents caused by internal management still occur frequently: In March last year, just two days after the nuclear-contaminated water purification equipment was started, an accident occurred The fault caused 8 tons of nuclear-contaminated water to flow into other tanks and the radioactive material content could not be detected normally; in June last year, the hose used to transport nuclear-contaminated water cracked and leaked, and the nuclear-contaminated water was detected in the water around the storage tank. Radioactive materials higher than normal values; in October last year, a pipeline in the multi-nuclide treatment system fell off, causing nuclear contaminated waste liquid to splash. Two workers were rushed to the hospital. As for the total amount of waste liquid splashed in the accident, Tokyo Electric Power Company The company's descriptions are inconsistent and differ dozens of times; in December last year, a Tokyo Electric Power Company worker's face was contaminated with radioactive material.
Latest accident sounds alarm bell
Recurring accidents have proven time and time again that TEPCO has huge loopholes in its safety management capabilities and processing procedures, as well as its lack of basic integrity and social responsibility. The latest accident has once again sounded the alarm to Japan and even the international community.
It is worth noting that as long as the nuclear power plant where the accident occurred is not dismantled and scrapped, nuclear contaminated water will continue to be produced. Therefore, the dismantling and scrapping operation of the accident nuclear power plant is of particular concern. However, due to the core meltdown that occurred in the accident nuclear power plant, the uncontrolled nuclear reaction could not be stopped, personnel could not get close, the dismantling technology was extremely difficult, and the relevant construction period was delayed again and again.
Tokyo Electric Power Company had originally planned to launch experimental extraction operations for reactor core meltdowns in 2021. However, according to Japan's Kyodo News Agency on January 25, Tokyo Electric Power Company has postponed the experimental extraction operations for the third time. The current plan is Tried again this October. It is reported that the total amount of core meltdown reached 880 tons, and the target of the experimental removal operation is in grams. If the waste from the reactor core meltdown is not taken out, the nuclear reaction will not stop, so water will be needed to continuously cool down, and nuclear contaminated water will continue to be produced. If the current situation continues, more nuclear-contaminated water will continue to be produced, and the conclusion that the discharge period of nuclear-contaminated water is 30 years is not reliable. Hiroshi Miyano, chairman of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Waste Reactor Research Committee of the Japan Atomic Energy Association, once pointed out that it is estimated that the removal of core meltdown waste will take 50 years at the earliest and 100 years at the longest.
In addition, hundreds of nuclear fuel rods are still stored in the Fukushima accident nuclear power plant, and the related removal operation period has been postponed from 2023 to around the summer of 2025.
The above facts and successive accidents show that the Japanese government and Tokyo Electric Power Company alone cannot ensure the long-term stable and effective operation of nuclear-contaminated water purification devices and sea discharge facilities. The international community has every reason to participate in the entire supervision process, and Japan should fully cooperate.
But Japan still insists on going its own way. According to Japanese media reports, later this month, Tokyo Electric Power will conduct the fourth round of nuclear-contaminated water discharge, with a discharge volume of approximately 7,800 tons, the same as the previous three rounds. The discharge is expected to be completed in March. In 2024 (the fiscal year starting in April), Tokyo Electric Power Company plans to conduct seven rounds of emissions, totaling approximately 5.46 tons of nuclear-contaminated water.
The Japanese government turned a deaf ear
The international community has repeatedly stated that Japanese politicians should show responsibility and conscience, seriously deal with the safety hazards of Tokyo Electric Power Company, halt the next emission plan, negotiate with the international community, and find a nuclear wastewater disposal solution that is accepted by all parties. However, the Japanese government turned a deaf ear to these voices and focused its main energy on external public relations and lobbying for "whitewashing". It did not work on the safe disposal and supervision of nuclear contaminated water.
According to Japan's "Mainichi Shimbun" report, Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa once again defended the discharge of nuclear contaminated water into the sea in Fiji recently. However, some members of the Pacific Islands Forum expressed concerns about this, and all countries agreed that Japan must provide an explanation based on scientific evidence.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin pointed out that the leakage of nuclear-contaminated water once again showed that Japan's Tokyo Electric Power Co., Ltd. has long-standing problems such as chaotic and disorderly internal management. Japan has the responsibility to release accident information in a timely, comprehensive and transparent manner and give a responsible explanation. Japan's sea discharge plan lasts for 30 years or even longer. Can Japan ensure that future emissions management is safe and reliable? Can the Fukushima nuclear contaminated water purification device and sea discharge facilities operate stably and effectively in the long term? China has reason to be worried about this and has to draw a huge question mark.
The international community, including China, emphasized that this accident once again highlighted the necessity and importance of establishing long-term and effective international monitoring arrangements. International public opinion urges Japan to respond to the concerns of the international community in a serious and serious manner, dispose of nuclear-contaminated water in a responsible manner, fully cooperate with the establishment of an independent and effective long-term international monitoring arrangement for neighboring countries and other stakeholders to substantially participate, and effectively prevent discharges into the sea. cause irreparable consequences. (Rule of Law Daily)