[Column] Contaminated water will be discharged to the Pacific

Tepco will end up discharging the contaminated water to the sea.

In the second quarter of 2013, Tepco invested 22 billion yen to increase the storage facility.

From their plan, Tepco is supposed to increase the storage capacity up to 800,000 m3 by the end of 2015.

However, the water increases faster than they increase the tank.

From one of the simulations, which is the most realistic, the contaminated water start overflowing in June 2015. Even Tepco stated it can be sooner depending on the situation.

The key word is “safety limit”.

In the recent press conference, Tepco’s vice president suggested the possibility to discharge the contaminated water by “diluting”.

Even if they filter the water, radioactive water Tritium can’t be removed.

However, if they “dilute” it, and make the density lower than the safety limit, they can legally discharge it.