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Purveyor

(29,876 posts)
Mon Apr 22, 2013, 01:16 PM Apr 2013

IAEA: Japan Nuke Cleanup May Take More Than 40 Years

Source: Associated Press

TOKYO (AP) -- A U.N. nuclear watchdog team said Japan may need longer than the projected 40 years to decommission its tsunami-crippled nuclear plant and urged its operator to improve plant stability.

The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency team, Juan Carlos Lentijo, said Monday that damage at the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant is so complex that it is impossible to predict how long the cleanup may last.

"As for the duration of the decommissioning project, this is something that you can define in your plans. But in my view, it will be nearly impossible to ensure the time for decommissioning such a complex facility in less than 30-40 years as it is currently established in the roadmap," Lentijo said.

The government and plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. have predicted the cleanup would take up to 40 years. They still have to develop technology and equipment that can operate under fatally high radiation levels to locate and remove melted fuel. The reactors must be kept cool and the plant must stay safe and stable, and those efforts to ensure safety could slow the process down.

Read more: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/AS_JAPAN_NUCLEAR_IAEA?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2013-04-22-12-54-57

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Trillo

(9,154 posts)
3. Won't somebody think of the bottom line.... Money money money money.
Mon Apr 22, 2013, 02:06 PM
Apr 2013

"They still have to develop technology and equipment that can operate under fatally high radiation levels to locate and remove melted fuel."

Pink Floyd needs new lyrics.

Tom Rinaldo

(22,911 posts)
6. "have to develop technology and equipment that can operate under fatally high radiation levels"
Mon Apr 22, 2013, 03:08 PM
Apr 2013

Be fair, how could anyone have anticipated a possible need for that? It's not like anyone knew that radiation can be lethal.

Hubert Flottz

(37,726 posts)
4. How's that low priced clean nuclear power working out for planet Earth?
Mon Apr 22, 2013, 02:47 PM
Apr 2013

About like that Drill baby Drill worked out for the Gulf.

csziggy

(34,120 posts)
5. Most of the Hanford reactors were shut down 50 years ago
Mon Apr 22, 2013, 02:59 PM
Apr 2013

The last reactor was shut down in 1987. "Cleanup" was started right after that but there are still millions of gallons of liquid radioactive waste stored there, much in single shell containers some which are leaking their contents.

The most significant challenge at Hanford is stabilizing the 53 million U.S. gallons (204,000 m3) of high-level radioactive waste stored in 177 underground tanks. About a third of these tanks have leaked waste into the soil and groundwater.[66] As of 2008, most of the liquid waste has been transferred to more secure double-shelled tanks; however, 2.8 million U.S. gallons (10,600 m3) of liquid waste, together with 27 million U.S. gallons (100,000 m3) of salt cake and sludge, remains in the single-shelled tanks.[5] That waste was originally scheduled to be removed by 2018. The revised deadline is 2040.[64] Nearby aquifers contain an estimated 270 billion U.S. gallons (1 billion m3) of contaminated groundwater as a result of the leaks.[67] As of 2008, 1 million U.S. gallons (4,000 m3) of highly radioactive waste is traveling through the groundwater toward the Columbia River. This waste is expected to reach the river in 12 to 50 years if cleanup does not proceed on schedule.[5] The site also includes 25 million cubic feet (710,000 m3) of solid radioactive waste.[67]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanford_Site#Decommissioning


If TEPCO can clean up Fukushima in 30-40 years, I would be impressed.
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