Fukushima Daiichi NPS Prompt Report 2015

Engineers' effort enabled speedy water treatment ahead of schedule; Strontium now filtered from almost all stored water

FUKUSHIMA, May 27, 2015 -Reaching another milestone in the treatment of contaminated water at Fukushima Daiichi, TEPCO announced today that the water which includes high concentration of seawater (hereafter "high-percentage seawater") that had been accumulating in the reactor facilities after the 3/11 Tsunami - has been treated.

Though the "high-percentage seawater" represented only about 3 percent of the total quantity of contaminated water that had been stored on the site as of March, engineers have been originally expected it would take longer to treat because of the greater density of saltwater. But, they had said, as they had adjusted water flow inside the treatment facilities, they came to figure out the appropriate water flow which enables all "high-percentage seawater" to be treated within this month.

Now, all the stored contaminated water except for the residual water in the bottom of the tanks has been treated. This is expected to significantly contribute to lowering the level of radiation both inside the facility and at the site boundary.

The remaining is water in the bottom of the storage tanks, which cannot be reached by the originally installed pumps. This water will be carefully removed when the tanks are disassembled etc., and then treated.

The company had originally hoped to have all the stored water treated by the end of March, but challenges in getting various technologically innovative treatment systems up to full capacity led the company to announce on March 16 that the new target for all but the "high-percentage seawater" and the residual water in the tanks would be May 31.

Some of the treated water will require further treatment to remove additional, less problematic, nuclides. But the filtering of Strontium represents the removal of the substance most likely to contribute to radiation in the environment. The filters and related devices that now contain the strontium will be stored safely on the site in containers that shield radiation much more effectively than the tanks in which the contaminated water had been stored.

About TEPCO
Tokyo Electric Power Company, Inc. (TEPCO) is Japan's largest power company, supplying energy to the greater Kanto area, including Japan's two most populous cities, Tokyo and Yokohama. Its 34,000 employees are committed to providing safe, reliable power to its 29.0 million customers, diversifying energy resources to ensure sustainability, and contributing to economic growth while fully meeting its responsibilities after the Fukushima Daiichi accident.
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