Fukushima Frozen Wall Needs Risk Assessment, Tepco Adviser Says
Source: Bloomberg
A government-backed plan for a frozen underground wall to limit water contamination at the wrecked Fukushima atomic station needs further vetting for potential risks to the environment, an adviser to the plant’s operator said.
The plan, which is intended to keep groundwater from seeping into the basements of the plant’s damaged reactor buildings, may not function as intended because it’s based on untested assumptions about the site’s hydrology, said Dale Klein, who chairs Tokyo Electric Power Co.’s Nuclear Reform Monitoring Committee.
“Are there any unintended consequences?” Klein asked at a press conference today in Tokyo. “We’re concerned about safety and environmental protection.”
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“From those tests, if Tepco finds technical information that indicates the frozen wall is not the best, they need to communicate that to the government,” Klein said. “I know the government has said that they will put in the frozen wall, but I hope that science will trump political policy.”
Read more: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-05-01/fukushima-frozen-wall-needs-risk-assessment-tepco-adviser-says.html
