Tepco May Not Clear Radioactive Water in 2011

Tepco has been pouring water to bring reactor temperatures below 100 degrees Celsius (212 Fahrenheit), a state called cold shutdown, after the March 11 earthquake and tsunami caused three meltdowns at the station in the worst accident since Chernobyl in 1986. The treatment system started in June had suffered 32 breakdowns as of Aug. 13, the utility said Aug. 16.

“It would be disastrous if the accumulated water leaks to the environment,” Tetsuo Ito, the head of the Atomic Energy Research Institute at Kinki University, said in a telephone interview. “In addition to rainfall, underground water must be flowing into basements. Unless Tepco stops the flow, it would be a big challenge to remove all the water.”

[link to www.bloomberg.com]

- Did anyone seriously think they would be able to meet that goal?