Japan to dump 11,500 tonnes of radioactive water at sea

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TOKYO, Apr 4 (agencies): Japan plans to dump 11,500 tonnes of radioactive water at sea to free up storage space at its crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant for more highly contaminated water, the plant's operator said Monday. A spokesman for Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) said the water that the company intends to release into the Pacific is only weakly radioactive and has to be cleared out to make room for more radioactive waste water. "Highly radioactive waste water has been accumulated at turbine buildings at Fukushima Daiichi, especially at the reactor unit 2," the official told reporters. "There is a need to release already stored water in order to accept the additional waste water." About 10,000 tonnes of radioactive waste water currently stored at a facility at Fukushima will be released into the ocean along with 1,500 tons of water from pits under reactor units 5 and 6 in the six-reactor plant, he said. He said the release would take place "as soon as necessary preparations are made".