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Japanese nuclear workers pump radioactive water into ocean
By: nydailynews.comPosted On: 04/05/2011 8:18 A
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Japan began dumping 11,150 tons of radioactive water into the Pacific Ocean on Monday - but experts said it probably doesn't pose a long-distance or long-term risk.
Japan began dumping 11,150 tons of radioactive water into the Pacific Ocean on Monday - but experts said it probably doesn't pose a long-distance or long-term risk.
"I wouldn't go wade through that water near the pipe, but would I worry about hazards 20 miles outside the plume? Probably not," said Tim Kenna, a marine geochemist with the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory at Columbia University.
Desperate to avoid a meltdown, Japan has been using seawater to douse overheated fuel rods at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant.
The result is highly radioactive runoff that must be stored. To make room, Tokyo Electric said it has to release four Olympic pools worth of less-contaminated water.
"We have no choice but to release water tainted with radioactive materials into the ocean as a safety measure," government spokesman Yukio Edano said.
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