Four workers at the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in northeastern Japan were struck by water containing radioactive materials and two of them were hospitalized as a precaution, an official said Friday.
Five workers were cleaning pipes in the filtration system used to treat the plant’s water when a pipe accidentally came loose, leaving two of the workers wet. A spokesperson for Tokyo Electric Power (Tepco), operator of the plant, explained this to AFP.
The likelihood of these workers suffering burns from radiation exposure was considered low by a doctor, Tepco said.
“We have learned that the condition of the two hospitalized workers is stable.”the spokesperson said, adding that “they will remain in the hospital for approximately two weeks for follow-up examinations.”
Two other workers may have been contaminated with radioactivity while cleaning up the damage. the spokesperson added.
Tepco is studying the circumstances of the accident and analyzing measures to prevent recurrence, he added.
Japan completed last Monday, after 18 days, the second phase of releasing treated water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant, damaged by an earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011, into the sea.
This water was stored for a long time in tanks at the plant and was treated to remove radioactive substances, with the exception of tritium, which experts say is only dangerous in very high concentrated doses.
Tepco then dilutes the water with seawater before discharging it into the ocean, to ensure that the level of radioactivity does not exceed limits.
The discharge into the sea was approved by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), but the project caused a diplomatic crisis between Japan and China, resulting in the suspension of all imports of Japanese seafood products in late August.
During the first phase of 17 days, approximately 7,800 cubic meters of tritium-containing water will have been discharged. In late August, Tepco said it plans three more similar operations by the end of March 2024.
In total, Tokyo plans to gradually release more than 1.3 million cubic meters of water from Fukushima into the Pacific Ocean – the equivalent of 540 Olympic swimming pools – until early 2050, according to the current calendar.
Source: DN
