Four workers come in contact with radioactive water from Fukushima nuclear plant

The operator of the Fukushima nuclear plant has reported that four workers were exposed to water containing radioactive materials, leading to the hospitalization of two of them as a precautionary measure.

According to a spokesperson from TEPCO, the operator, the incident occurred while five workers were engaged in the task of cleaning pipes within the ALPS system, which is responsible for filtering wastewater before releasing it into the sea. During this process, two workers were accidentally splashed when a hose became disconnected. The other two workers were subsequently contaminated when they were cleaning up the spill. The radiation levels in the bodies of the two hospitalized workers measured at or above 4 becquerels per square centimeter, which is the threshold considered safe.

The spokesperson noted that, according to a doctor’s assessment, the likelihood that the two hospitalized workers sustained radiation burns is low. He added that the condition of both workers in the hospital is stable, and they are expected to remain there for approximately two weeks for follow-up examinations.

TEPCO is conducting an analysis of the incident to determine how it occurred and is reviewing safety measures to prevent such incidents from happening again.

Notably, Tokyo recently moved forward with its plan to release treated radioactive water into the sea from the decommissioned nuclear reactor plant.

This incident comes after TEPCO completed the release of the second batch of wastewater from the plant.

The Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant suffered a devastating tsunami in 2011, resulting in the release of a substantial amount of radioactive material and causing extensive human suffering. Several of the facility’s reactors experienced meltdowns as their cooling systems were overwhelmed, leading to a nuclear disaster on a scale not seen since Chernobyl.

The contaminated water, primarily consisting of a mixture of groundwater, rain infiltration, and cooling water, has been distilled after coming into contact with fuel rods in the reactor. Currently, the on-site tanks hold approximately 1.3 million tonnes of radioactive water, a substantial volume.