The controversial release of more than a million tonnes of water from the wrecked Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant will begin in the northern spring or summer, Japan’s government has said – a move that has sparked anger among local fishing communities and countries in the region.
The decision comes more than two years after the government approved the release of the water, which will be treated to remove most radioactive materials but will still contain tritium, a naturally occurring radioactive form of hydrogen that is technically difficult to separate from water.
We’ll not in fact be able to tell. If we test the Pacific Ocean now, then test it again after the release, we’ll simply not be able to show that the release happened.
All the screaming about this is total pish. Political pish at that.
The half-life of tritium is a little over 12 years. It undergoes beta decay and one of the neutrons emits an electron. It decays to helium-3, which is stable. Water is an excellent shield against radiation.
If a water molecule contains a tritium atom, I don’t have any idea what happens when it decays.
I also don’t know what effect a large and concentrated radiation source would have in an area with lots of living creatures (say cobalt-60). That’s a lot different than what is being discussed here, however.
If a water molecule contains a tritium atom, I don’t have any idea what happens when it decays.
It ends up as a hydrogen molecule and a helium atom. The intermediate stages will be a little more interesting but nothing worth worrying about.
A few quick numbers: 1 million tons of water is 0.001 cubic kilometres. The Pacific Ocean is 600 million cubic kilometres.
@MrCat
A water molecule with one H atom the tritium isotope unfissioned is, by definition, as safe as water. And if it fissioned inside you the decay particles would be lost in the background radiation one’s constantly exposed to anyway. The end product, helium’s totally harmless. The whole thing’s less dangerous than a day trip to Cornwall.
This thread needs Banana Equivalent Doses as a comparator for those of us used to DD buses, Wales & Isle of Wights being thrown in.
Nessimmersion: “Assuming you’ve been living on Earth since the nuclear reactor at Fukushima in Japan was struck by a tsunami in March 2011, there’s a good chance you copped about 1,000 bananas’ worth of radiation over the past six years as a result of the meltdown”.
11 Trillion BED’s quoted elsewhere as the total.
The water they’ll be pouring into the ocean is cleaner than the ocean itself. They’ll be – very very very slightly – making the ocean cleaner.
“Anger among countries in the region”.
South Korea then. I can’t see the Norks or Chinese being able to complain about pollution while keeping straight faces no matter how inscrutable they may be.
File under “outrage guardian-style”.
I can only agree Tim. One does wonder how much of the tritium was in the water to begin with.
It’s certainly interesting that it’ll take 30 to 40 years to decommission the plant. But no doubt it’ll take most of that time for the short half-life elements to decay.
There certainly appears to be no urgency about the matter.
About 30 cubic km of ocean is destroyed and created every year due to plate techtonics. A lot of radioactive material spews out at the boundaries.
About 6 DMP worth of radiation if I recall the banana scale correctly.
*DMP = DelMontePlantation
A few quick numbers: 1 million tons of water is 0.001 cubic kilometres. The Pacific Ocean is 600 million cubic kilometres.
Homeopaths think that dilution is the problem.
If we test the Pacific Ocean now, then test it again after the release, we’ll simply not be able to show that the release happened.
This is true but counterproductively useless information, giving the appearance of spin. Nobody gives a shit about the waters around Pitcairn; they care about the local waters, especially Fukushima waters.
Tell them about the nature of tritium. Tell them that 2016 levels (much reduced by now) were equivalent to 14 millilitres of pure tritiated water dispersed within the 1000000000 litres of water stored on site. Tell them that the treated water will be released gradually over many years. If you can tell them that levels will be undetectable five miles away in the prevailing currents during the releases, tell them that.
Remember that probably most people regard the nuclear industry with the same loathing suspicion that many folks here regard the government-corporate Covid adventures. Haughty and condescending reassurances (from producers of such movies as “nuclear reactors built on the tsunami coasts of major earthquake zones are safe”) are likely to be regarded with doubt and contempt.
I’m not worried about the tritium, I’m worried that they haven’t successfully removed all the other shite from the water. Honestly, who will surprised if it turns out they’re a bunch of incompetent, lying cunts who poison the environment again.
Fukushima would have been a non event if one of two design fuckups hadn’t existed.
1. Putting the emergency power generators in the basement.
2. Needing power to drop the control rods into the core, instead of gravity.
I’m sure even simpletons can learn from simple mistakes. But nuclear engineers?
“Needing power to drop the control rods into the core, instead of gravity.”
If only someone had explained the distinction between active and passive safety to the people who designed smart motorways.
Philip… Nuclear engineers actually did notice the design flaws and tried to amend the designs.
Something, something, japanese corporate culture happened. AKA: The Boss Is Never Wrong So How Dare You, Junior!
Which was actually publicly admitted to by the Apologetic Committee investigating the Why of it.
An all too common occurrance in Japanese society that not even the Fukushima gaffe hasn’t been able to change.
“It’s a shame [the plant blew up], but propriety was preserved.” is a very Japanese thing.
And by their social rules a valid and sincere excuse.
– If only someone had explained the distinction between active and passive safety to the people who designed smart motorways.
They did, but the calculation was:
Having smart motorways inc. subsequent deaths costs wider economy £y
Not having smart motorways costs wider economy £x
£x > £y ∴ have smart motorways (and tough fucking luck to the people who die)
A calculation that was approved of in this realm, as I recall.
“It’s a shame [the plant blew up], but propriety was preserved.” is a very Japanese thing.
And by their social rules a valid and sincere excuse.
The culture is changing gradually, but there have been several historic instances of southeast Asian co-pilots dying in a smoking hole (along with many passengers) rather than point out to their captain that he’d made a mistake. ‘Face’ remains a huge thing.
You need the full five-step process to offer a proposal that your superior can implement as their own decision.
Friendly attention: Hey, Chief?
Suggested information: I might be wrong but I think we’re flying into a mountain.
Explain your feelings: This makes me feel scared of the mountain.
Offer a solution: One thing we could do is pull up and fly over the mountain.
Obtain buy-in: How does that feel to ****KABLOOIE!!!!***
Dearieme +1
Tritium levels in discrete seawater bodies have long been used to estimate formation rates and pathways of bottom waterin the world’s oceans as, for example, Antarctic Bottom Water moving slowly but steadily up the Atlantic Basin. There is sufficent tritium already present in the oceans to allow this whether sourced from bomb testing or its natural formation in the upper atmosphere.
pathways of bottom water
Now there’s something to ponder on.