Tag Archives: tritium

Fish Near Fukushima Contained Radioactive Cesium 180 Times Over Japan’s Limit

The fish was caught near a drainage outlet where water from melted nuclear reactors flows—some of the same water that is to be treated and released from the power plant starting next month.

By Julia Conley. Published 7-24-2023 by Common Dreams

The Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant after the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami Photo: Digital Globe/CC

With the Tokyo Electric Power Company planning to begin a release of 1.3 million tonnes of treated wastewater from the former Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Japan next month, reports of radioactive fish in the area have raised alarm in recent years—and new reporting on Sunday revealed that the problem is far from mitigated, prompting questions about how dangerous the company’s plan will be for the public.

The plant operator, known as TEPCO, analyzed a black rockfish in May that was found to contain levels of radioactive cesium that were 180 times over Japan’s regulatory limit, The Guardian reported.

Continue reading →

Nuclear Plant, Minnesota Officials Hid 400,000-Gallon Leak of Radioactive Water for Months

Xcel Energy reported a leak of tritium-contaminated water at its Monticello nuclear power plant on November 22. State authorities just acknowledged they’re monitoring the ongoing cleanup effort.

By Kenny Stancil Published 3-17-2023 by Common Dreams

Monticello Nuclear Generating Plant, Unit 1 Photo: NRC/flickr/CC

Xcel Energy in late November told Minnesota and federal officials about a leak of 400,000 gallons of water contaminated with radioactive tritium at its Monticello nuclear power plant, but it wasn’t until Thursday that the incident and ongoing cleanup effort were made public.

In a statement, Xcel said Thursday that it “took swift action to contain the leak to the plant site, which poses no health and safety risk to the local community or the environment.” Continue reading →

Greenpeace Says Japan’s Plan to Contaminate Pacific Ocean With Fukushima Water Would Violate International Law

“The government has taken the wholly unjustified decision to deliberately contaminate the Pacific Ocean with radioactive wastes.”

By Kenny Stancil, staff writer for Common Dreams. Published 4-13-2021

Contaminated water storage tanks at Fukushima. Photo: Svein T veitdal/Twitter

In a decision that sparked condemnation from environmental advocates, fisherfolk, and neighboring countries, Japan announced Tuesday a plan to dump over 1.2 million tons of stored contaminated wastewater from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean.

The decision made by Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga’s Cabinet gives Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) the green light to release Fukushima’s wastewater into the sea just over a decade after one of the worst nuclear disasters in history; discharges won’t begin for two years, as TEPCO prepares for a process that is expected to take decades. Continue reading →

Occupy World Writes

The Movement Continues – Globally

Tag Archives: tritium

Nuclear Plant, Minnesota Officials Hid 400,000-Gallon Leak of Radioactive Water for Months

Xcel Energy reported a leak of tritium-contaminated water at its Monticello nuclear power plant on November 22. State authorities just acknowledged they’re monitoring the ongoing cleanup effort.