Fukushima leak is 'much worse than we were led to believe' 22 August 2013Last updated at 05:32 ET By Matt McGrath Environment correspondent, BBC News Rupert Wingfield-Hayes travels to the source of the water being contaminated by Fukushima A nuclear expert has told the BBC that he believes the current water leaks at Fukushima are much worse than the authorities have stated.
Mycle Schneider is an independent consultant who has previously advised the French and German governments. He says water is leaking out all over the site and there are no accurate figures for radiation levels. Meanwhile the chairman of Japan's nuclear authority said that he feared there would be further leaks. The ongoing problems at the Fukushima plant increased in recent days when the Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco) admitted that around 300 tonnes of highly radioactive water had leaked from a storage tank on the site.
Moment of crisis Continue reading the main story “Start Quote It is leaking out from the basements, it is leaking out from the cracks all over the place” A Fukushima fisherman’s tale: Radioactive water from the Daiichi plant is flowing into the ocean at a rate of 300 tons a day - Nature - Environment. Just 27 miles up the coast from this small harbour town, radioactivity from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant leaks into the ocean, and into the sardines, mackerel and squid that three generations of Mr Ichida’s family once caught.
Engineers are fighting what appears to be a losing battle to stop the leaks from worsening. Japan’s Nuclear Regulatory Authority (NRA) warned this week that the build-up of contaminated groundwater at the plant is on the verge of tipping out of control and that its operator, Tokyo Electric Power (Tepco), “lacked a sense of crisis” about the looming damage to the Pacific. “Right now, we have an emergency,” said Shinji Kinjo, the head of an NRA task force. Mr Kinjo warned that leaking water had already flowed over a barrier built by engineers to block it. “The water could accelerate very quickly,” he said. Critics have accused the NRA of allowing Tepco off the hook.
Mr Ichida is not surprised. Yoshio Ichida was out fishing when the waves wrecked his home. Exclusive: Japan nuclear body says radioactive water at Fukushima an 'emergency'
HAARP hypothesis/conspiracy. Fukushima Disaster Was Man-Made, Investigation Finds. The Fukushima nuclear disaster was the result of “man-made” failures before and after last year’s earthquake, according to a report from an independent parliamentary investigation.
The breakdowns involved regulators working with the plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. to avoid implementing safety measures as well as a government lacking commitment to protect the public, the Fukushima Nuclear Accident Independent Investigation Commission said in the report. The March 11 accident, which set off a wave of reactor safety investigations around the world, “cannot be regarded as a natural disaster,” the commission’s chairman, Tokyo University professor emeritus Kiyoshi Kurokawa, wrote in the report released yesterday in Tokyo. It “could and should have been foreseen and prevented. And its effects could have been mitigated by a more effective human response.” The report dealt the harshest critique yet to Tokyo Electric (9501) and the government.
Earthquake’s Effect Disputed Contrary Finding.