Majority of Water Treated for Strontium
Jeremy L. Dillon
RW Monitor
5/29/2015
The Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) announced this week that almost all stored water at that Fukushima Daiichi cleanup site that was contaminated with radioactivity has been treated to remove strontium. Only three percent of water in storage still requires treatment for strontium, a major accomplishment for a cleanup that has been mired in water contamination problems. The treatment achievement will contribute to lowering radiation levels within the facility, the company said. “This is a significant milestone for improving the environment for our surrounding communities and for our workers,” said Chief Decommissioning Officer Naohiro Masuda, in a statement. “It reduces risk and will make people inside and outside the facility more secure.”
TEPCO had originally anticipated completing treatment by the end of March, but problems emerged in getting the correct technology in place to treat the water. Some of the treated water will require further treatment to remove additional, less problematic, nuclides, TEPCO said. The three percent still needing treatment includes water with a high concentration of seawater, which has a greater density. There also remains water in the bottom of the storage tanks, which cannot be vacuumed up by the existing pumps. According to TEPCO, that water can only be treated once the tanks are disassembled.
Kurion Involved in Strontium Removal Effort
Kurion has been heavily involved in the strontium removal effort. Last year, the company announced a contract with TEPCO to provide a mobile system to treat the water tanks at the Fukushima-Daiichi Power Station. Kurion previously provided treatment at the cleanup site to remove cesium from groundwater back in 2011. Kurion leveraged its ion specific media technology as a basis to form the Kurion Mobile Processing System, which is capable of moving from tank to tank to treat strontium.
TEPCO also attributed the success in reduced levels with its efforts to prevent further groundwater contamination. Last year, the company announced the launch of its bypass system that diverts groundwater from the site. The bypass system is an attempt to reduce the accumulation of contaminated water by intercepting the clean groundwater before it reaches the plant by rerouting it around the plant into the sea. TEPCO also began construction of an ‘ice wall,” which freezes the surrounding soil in an effort to block the flow of groundwater. The strategy also includes the construction of a seaside wall aiming to prevent groundwater from flowing into the sea by constructing a steel pipe sheet pile wall on the east side of the site and construction of a subdrain system that will capture underground water and pump the water for treatment. All four systems are part of TEPCO’s three large water management strategies—contaminant removal, contaminant isolation, and leakage prevention.
