Latest news: Fukushima nuclear wastewater leakage seeps into the soil, and the impact on Japanese magnesium salts continues to expand
On February 16th, according to the Daily News of Japan, the total amount of radioactive material leaked from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant on February 7th was 6.6 billion becquerels. Tokyo Electric Power Company announced the investigation results on February 15th, stating that the leak was caused by the staff not closing the manual valve.
On February 16th, according to the Daily News of Japan, the total amount of radioactive material leaked from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant on February 7th was 6.6 billion becquerels. Tokyo Electric Power Company announced the investigation results on February 15th, stating that the leak was caused by the staff not closing the manual valve.
Tokyo Electric Power Company has been dealing with a series of accidents during the process of dealing with nuclear contaminated water. The occurrence of this accident fully exposes the chaotic and disorderly internal management of Tokyo Electric Power Company, as well as the inadequate supervision of the Japanese government. It once again proves that the nuclear contaminated water treatment equipment does not have long-term reliability, and the outside world has every reason to be concerned about Japan's discharge of nuclear contaminated water.
Another sophistry about the leakage accident
According to Kyodo News Agency, on the morning of February 7th, a leakage accident occurred at the nuclear contaminated water purification equipment located in the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant of Tokyo Electric Power Company, causing about 1.5 tons of nuclear contaminated water to leak. The estimated content of radioactive cesium and strontium in the leaked water is as high as 22 billion becquerels. Although Tokyo Electric Power Company argues that the leak "has no impact on the outside of the nuclear power plant," there are reports that the radiation dose value in the underground soil at the leak site is 350 times that of the surrounding radiation dose value.
Due to most of the leaked water seeping underground, Tokyo Electric Power Company began to carry out soil recovery operations around the leakage point starting from the 8th. As of the 14th, 27 cubic meters of contaminated soil have been recovered, and soil recovery operations will continue until the radiation dose value returns to normal levels.
The equipment involved in this leakage accident is located between the accident nuclear reactor and the multi nuclide removal equipment (ALPS), which is used to adsorb and remove radioactive cesium and strontium from the nuclear contaminated water flowing through the core. On the 7th, the equipment was undergoing cleaning operations, and nuclear contaminated water was found to have flowed out from the exhaust port connected to the equipment. After the investigation, Tokyo Electric Power Company found that 10 of the 16 valves that should have been manually closed according to the operating procedures were open. The company announced the investigation results on the 15th, stating that the leak was caused by the staff not closing the manual valve.
After the accident, the Japan Atomic Energy Regulatory Commission verbally instructed Tokyo Electric Power Company to fully recover the leaked nuclear contaminated water and strengthen monitoring of surrounding drainage channels to prevent the spread of nuclear pollution. The local government of Fukushima Prefecture not only requires Tokyo Electric Power Company to identify the cause of the accident, but also requires it to take measures to prevent the accident from happening again. Fukushima Prefectural Crisis Management Minister Hiroshi Watanabe mentioned with concern the nuclear contaminated waste liquid splashing accident that occurred in October last year, and demanded that Tokyo Electric Power Company further strictly implement its safety management responsibilities.
However, Tokyo Electric Power Company has a long history and is not reassuring. 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 from its mistakes, but also attempted to conceal the fact of core melting, and continued to disregard safety and remain true to its mistakes in subsequent nuclear power projects; On the issue of nuclear contaminated water disposal, Tokyo Electric Power Company violated its promise and forcefully pushed for the discharge of nuclear contaminated water into the sea.
Even more infuriating is the frequent occurrence of accidents caused by internal management, despite recent repeated calls from the outside world to Tokyo Electric Power Company. In March last year, just two days after the start of the nuclear contaminated water purification equipment, it malfunctioned, causing 8 tons of nuclear contaminated water to flow into other tanks and unable to detect the content of radioactive substances normally; In June last year, a hose used to transport nuclear contaminated water cracked, causing leakage. Radioactive substances higher than normal were detected in the accumulated water around the nuclear contaminated water storage tank; Last October, the pipeline of the multi nuclide treatment system fell off, causing the splashing of nuclear contaminated waste liquid. Two workers were urgently sent to the hospital. However, Tokyo Electric Power Company's description of the total amount of waste liquid splashed in the accident is contradictory, with a difference of dozens of times; Last December, a worker from Tokyo Electric Power Company was contaminated with radioactive material on his face.
The latest accident rings the alarm bell
Repeated accidents have repeatedly proven that Tokyo Electric Power Company has huge loopholes in safety management capabilities and handling processes, and lacks basic integrity and social responsibility. The latest accident has once again sounded the alarm for Japan and even the international community.
It is worth noting that as long as the nuclear power plant involved in an accident is not dismantled and scrapped, a continuous stream of nuclear contaminated water will be generated. Therefore, the dismantling and scrapping of accident nuclear power plants is particularly concerning. However, due to the core meltdown inside the accident nuclear power plant, uncontrolled nuclear reactions could not be stopped, personnel could not approach, demolition technology was extremely difficult, and the related construction period was repeatedly delayed.
Tokyo Electric Power Company initially planned to initiate experimental extraction of core meltdown in 2021, but according to Kyodo News Agency on January 25th, Tokyo Electric Power Company has postponed the experimental extraction operation for the third time, and the current plan is to try again in October this year. According to reports, the total amount of melted material in the core reached 880 tons, and the target for experimental extraction operations is in grams. If the waste from core melting is not removed, the nuclear reaction cannot stop, and continuous cooling with water is required, resulting in a continuous generation of nuclear contaminated water. 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, pointed out that it is estimated that the fastest time to remove waste from core melting is 50 years, and the longest is 100 years.
In addition, there are hundreds of nuclear fuel rods stored in the Fukushima accident nuclear power plant, and the related extraction operation period has been postponed from 2023 to around the summer of 2025.
The above facts and a series of accidents indicate that the Japanese government and Tokyo Electric Power Company alone cannot guarantee the long-term stable and effective operation of nuclear contaminated water purification facilities and sea discharge facilities. The international community has sufficient reasons to participate in the entire process supervision, and Japan should fully cooperate.
But the Japanese side still insists on going their own way. According to Japanese media reports, Tokyo Electric Power will conduct the fourth round of nuclear contaminated water discharge in late this month, with a discharge volume of approximately 7800 tons, the same as the previous three rounds, and the discharge is expected to be completed in March. In 2024 (the fiscal year starting from April), Tokyo Electric Power Company plans to conduct 7 rounds of emissions, totaling approximately 54600 tons of nuclear contaminated water.
Nuclear wastewater has dealt a devastating blow to many industries in Japan, with magnesium salts being the first to be affected
Nuclear wastewater has dealt a devastating blow to many industries in Japan, with Japanese magnesium salts being the first to suffer. Major magnesium salt production enterprises in Japan, such as Kamishima Chemical Co., Ltd., Concord Chemical Industry Co., Ltd., Futa Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Ube Co., Ltd., and Tatehoe Chemical Industry Co., Ltd., all use seawater method to produce magnesium oxide, magnesium carbonate, magnesium sulfate, magnesium hydroxide, etc. During the production process, they will concentrate the seawater, causing the concentration of radioactive substances in the brine of magnesium salt raw materials to far exceed that of seawater contaminated by nuclear wastewater. This production method will inevitably lead to excessive levels of radioactive substances in the magnesium salts produced.
According to the simulation renderings of the German Marine Science Research Institute, the seawater contaminated by nuclear wastewater has already reached the locations of these factories. This means that the magnesium salt products produced by these enterprises, such as magnesium sulfate, magnesium oxide, magnesium hydroxide, and magnesium carbonate, are no longer safe. The use and exposure to these products will pose a real threat to people's physical health, thereby causing a significant blow to the confidence of downstream enterprises and consumers in these products.
Even more serious is that once the purchaser loses confidence in the products of a certain brand or country, the economy of that brand or country will be severely affected. At present, the sales of Japanese magnesium salts in the international market have significantly decreased. Correspondingly, domestically produced magnesium salts have mature production technology, and China's magnesium resources are abundant, mainly from mines and salt lakes. There is no risk of contamination by nuclear wastewater, which can fully meet the needs of domestic and foreign magnesium salt using enterprises. More importantly, China has strict standards and regulations for the production and use of magnesium salts, which can ensure the safety of products. Our country's production of magnesium salts not only has excellent quality, but also reasonable prices. Whether used as a filler or catalyst in industry, as a nutritional supplement in food, or as a therapeutic agent in medicine, magnesium salts in China can demonstrate excellent performance.
Therefore, when purchasing and using magnesium salt products, everyone should pay attention to discrimination to prevent Japanese magnesium salts from being inferior and inferior; Priority should be given to selecting products from our country to ensure the safety of magnesium salts, while also ensuring the safety of the products we produce. At the same time, we should firmly oppose the use of seawater contaminated with nuclear wastewater to extract magnesium products, in order to protect our environment and health.