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7/27/2019 Water Leaks at Fukushima Could Contaminate Entire Pacific Ocean
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Water leaks at Fukushima could contaminate entire
Pacific Ocean
Published time: August 08, 2013 14:16
Trends
Fukushima nuclear disaster
Tags
Accident,Ecology,Health,Japan,Nuclear
Two and a half years after the Fukashima tragedy Japan does not want to admit how
serious it is, but it is obvious the drastic environmental implications are to follow, Harvey
Wasserman, journalist and advocate for renewable energy, told RT.
RT:Japanese officials have admitted a leak at Fukushima has been happening for two
years and is worse than earlier thought. Why did it take so long to evaluate the actual
repercussions of the tragedy and take decisive measures to tackle them?
HW: The Japanese authorities have been covering up the true depth of the disaster
because they dont want to embarrass themselves and the global nuclear industry and
they are trying to open up another nuclear plant in Japan. When the Japanese people
now find out that the accident is worse than we thought and they have been leaking
http://rt.com/trends/fukushima-nuclear-disaster/http://rt.com/trends/fukushima-nuclear-disaster/http://rt.com/tags/accident/http://rt.com/tags/accident/http://rt.com/tags/ecology/http://rt.com/tags/ecology/http://rt.com/tags/ecology/http://rt.com/tags/health/http://rt.com/tags/health/http://rt.com/tags/health/http://rt.com/tags/japan/http://rt.com/tags/japan/http://rt.com/tags/japan/http://rt.com/tags/nuclear/http://rt.com/tags/nuclear/http://rt.com/tags/nuclear/http://rt.com/tags/nuclear/http://rt.com/tags/japan/http://rt.com/tags/health/http://rt.com/tags/ecology/http://rt.com/tags/accident/http://rt.com/trends/fukushima-nuclear-disaster/ -
7/27/2019 Water Leaks at Fukushima Could Contaminate Entire Pacific Ocean
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many tons of radioactive water into the Pacific Ocean for almost two and a half years,
this is a catastrophe. Tokyo Electric has no idea how to control this accident. This is
absolutely terrifying after two and a half years. To find out that these reactors have been
out of control, now that they cant control this they dont know whats going on. This is
not a primitive backward country; this is Japan with advanced technology. It has veryserious implications for nuclear power all over the world.
RT:Why the plant's operator failed to contain the leak?
HW:Because they dont know what to do. This has never happened before. You have
three explosions; you have four nuclear reactors that are severely compromised. No one
ever planned for this. This is an apocalyptic event. This is something that could
contaminate the entire Pacific Ocean. It is extremely serious. The reality is that Tokyo
Electric does not know what is happening and does not know how to control what is
going on. Our entire planet is at risk here. This is two and a half years after theseexplosions and they are still in the dark. Its terrifying.
Prof. Christopher Busby, to the contrary, believes that "the Pacific Ocean is big
enoughfor this level of release not to represent the global catastrophe that some are
predicting" and provides his calculationsin his article on RT.com.
RT:An estimated 300 tonnes of contaminated water is spilling daily into the ocean. How
come Tepco insists the leaks still pose no big threat to the environment?
HW:They are lying; they cant face the reality of this situation. When have very serious
quantities of radiation going into the Pacific Ocean. There is no medical or
epidemiological or scientific basis for estimating how much damage this will cost. We
are on entirely new ground here and this cannot go by without a serious impact on the
entire human race. This is a terrible tragedy.
http://rt.com/op-edge/tepco-fukushima-sea-water-reactor-194/http://rt.com/op-edge/tepco-fukushima-sea-water-reactor-194/http://rt.com/op-edge/tepco-fukushima-sea-water-reactor-194/http://rt.com/op-edge/tepco-fukushima-sea-water-reactor-194/http://rt.com/op-edge/tepco-fukushima-sea-water-reactor-194/http://rt.com/op-edge/tepco-fukushima-sea-water-reactor-194/http://rt.com/op-edge/tepco-fukushima-sea-water-reactor-194/http://rt.com/op-edge/tepco-fukushima-sea-water-reactor-194/http://rt.com/op-edge/tepco-fukushima-sea-water-reactor-194/ -
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Thisaerialview, taken by an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) of the Air Photo Service on March
20, 2011 shows Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant at
Okuma town in Fukushima prefecture. (AFP Photo)
RT:The clean-up was previously on Tepco alone. Why didn't the governmentstepin
earlier? Rectifying an accident like the one at Fukushima needs a comprehensive
approach, doesn't it?HW: The problem is that the company does not want to admit how serious this is and
the government of Japan doesnt want to admit how serious this is. And even if the
government of Japan steps in, they dont know what to do. This particular
administration in Japan wants to open the other nuclear plants. 50 nuclear plants have
been shut in Japan since the accident and they want to reopen them. This is very
political, because if they admit to how bad the things are in Fukushima the public is not
going to stand for them re opening other nuclear plants, including some that are owned
by Tokyo Electric Power. How do you have a huge utility company on one hand saying
that we cant control all these 300 tons of radioactive liquid going into the Pacific Oceanevery day, and on the other hand we want you to let us open these other nuclear
reactors? This is a catastrophe for them and thats why they have been lying about it
because they want to open other nuclear plants but they dont want the public to know
how serious the damage is in Fukushima.
http://rt.com/op-edge/japan-fukushima-contamination-environment-229/http://rt.com/op-edge/japan-fukushima-contamination-environment-229/http://rt.com/op-edge/japan-fukushima-contamination-environment-229/http://rt.com/op-edge/japan-fukushima-contamination-environment-229/http://rt.com/op-edge/japan-fukushima-contamination-environment-229/http://rt.com/op-edge/japan-fukushima-contamination-environment-229/http://rt.com/op-edge/japan-fukushima-contamination-environment-229/http://rt.com/op-edge/japan-fukushima-contamination-environment-229/ -
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