A significantly smaller amount of radioactive water than originally believed leaked from underground storage tanks on the grounds of the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, according to new estimates by Tokyo Electric Power Co.
A significantly smaller amount of radioactive water than originally believed leaked from underground storage tanks on the grounds of the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, according to new estimates by Tokyo Electric Power Co.
TEPCO said May 16 an estimated 300 liters of radioactive water escaped from the No. 2 storage tank, down from the 120,000 liters the utility initially estimated on April 6. The water leaks were first spotted at the No. 2 tank on April 5, followed by similar leaks found at the No. 3 tank on April 7, and the No. 1 tank on April 9.
On May 16, the utility also estimated the combined amount of radioactive water leaks from the No. 1 and No. 3 storage tanks at 90 liters maximum, which is 390 liters total leakage when the three tanks are combined.
TEPCO officials added that only an estimated maximum of 30 liters escaped into the soil, with the bulk of the radioactive leaks remaining within a three-layered sheet structure of the storage tanks. They attributed the overestimation for the No. 2 tank to errors in the readings of a water level gauge, which were used to evaluate the amount of leakage.
The new estimates were derived from radioactive substance concentrations in the leaked water and other data, TEPCO officials said.