福島原発汚染水 政府と東電はどう封じ込める

The Yomiuri Shimbun October 31, 2013
Govt, TEPCO must come up with plan to plug polluted water leaks
福島原発汚染水　政府と東電はどう封じ込める（10月30日付・読売社説）

The leakage of water contaminated with radioactive substances at Tokyo Electric Power Co.’s Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant must be contained without delay. The government and the utility must come up with viable measures to deal with this task.
　東京電力福島第一原子力発電所の汚染水対策は待ったなしだ。政府と東電は、実効性ある対策をまとめねばならない。

During a meeting on Monday, Shunichi Tanaka, chairman of the Nuclear Regulation Authority, called on TEPCO President Naomi Hirose to implement fundamental corrective steps, describing the current state of affairs as “extremely alarming.”
　原子力規制委員会の田中俊一委員長が広瀬直己東電社長と会談して、汚染水問題は「極めて憂慮すべき状態」と指摘し、抜本的な改善を求めた。

Contaminated water leaks continue at the crippled plant due to defects in the facility’s storage tanks and errors committed by workers. Though he is rather late in taking action, the head of the government’s nuclear watchdog had every reason to press TEPCO’s top executive to rectify the situation.
　作業ミスや貯蔵タンクの欠陥などで、汚染水の漏出が相次いでいる。遅きに失した感はあるが、規制当局のトップが直接、事業者に注文するのは当然のことだ。

According to media reports, Hirose explained during the meeting the short-term measures TEPCO would take to deal with its containment operations. These included sending personnel to the troubled facility from all sections of the corporation.
　これに対し、広瀬社長は、東電の組織全体から福島に要員を派遣し、体制を強化する当面の対策を説明した、という。

He said it was essential to make progress in decontamination at the site and enable workers to carry out their tasks without wearing full face masks. He added it was also imperative that accommodation facilities be built near the work site to reduce the time needed for workers to arrive at the site and the trouble this would cause.
　現場の除染などを進め、顔を覆うマスクなしで作業できる環境を整える。現場付近に宿泊施設を造り、作業員の移動量も減らす。

As things stand now, it is unclear when the leakage problem can be cleared up. This has aroused concerns about a decline in the morale of TEPCO employees and others involved in the containment work. It is essential to improve the working environment in an effort to ensure that no further errors are committed by workers engaged in that task.
　問題収束のめどが立たない中、社員らの士気低下を懸念する声がある。作業環境の改善をテコにミスをなくすことが必要だ。

At present, no adverse effect of the leaks has been detected in waters near the power plant. The density of radioactive substances in these waters is far below international safety standards for potable water. It is important to control the leakage of contaminated water so areas outside the crippled facility will not be adversely affected.
　現状では周辺の海に汚染の影響は出ていない。放射性物質の量は飲料水の基準をも下回っている。大切なのは、今後も、外部への影響を抑えていくことである。

The contaminated water in the storage tanks continues to increase by a daily average of 400 tons. About 1,000 storage tanks have already been installed at the grounds of the power station. Eventually, there will be no space left to build new storage tanks.
　汚染水は、１日平均で４００トンずつ増え続けている。敷地内に設置した貯蔵タンクはすでに約１０００基に上り、いずれ増設する場所はなくなるだろう。

Purifier on the blink

The major culprit behind the increase in contaminated water is underground water flowing into wrecked reactor buildings. The water becomes contaminated when it mixes with radioactive cooling water in the buildings. In addition, rainwater has been contaminated with pollutants on the surface of the ground.
　汚染水増加の主な原因は、原発建屋内に流れ込む地下水だ。放射能を含む冷却水に触れ、汚染水となる。雨水にも、地表の汚染物質が混入している。

The utility has been unable to obtain approval from local fishermen for a plan to discharge underground water into the sea before it finds its way into the reactor buildings.
　建屋に入る前の地下水をくみ上げて海に流す計画については、漁業者の了解を得られていない。

It is also disturbing that a contaminated-water purifier undergoing tests has encountered a number of problems. If the apparatus operates properly, it could reduce the risk posed by the leakage of contaminated water. Experts have said the risk of pollution would be much lower if contaminated water is purified before it enters the sea.
　試運転中の汚染水浄化装置がトラブル続きなのも問題だ。安定稼働すれば、汚染水が漏出した時のリスクを軽減できる。浄化後の水は海に流しても危険性はかなり低いと指摘する専門家は多い。

The government appears to be taking the initiative in tackling the contaminated-water leak problem. In stepping up efforts to reduce the amount of contaminated water, the government may have to explain to local residents about pouring purified water into the sea.
　政府は前面に立って対処する姿勢を示している。地元関係者への説明を含め、汚染水を減らすための取り組み強化が求められる。

A government committee tasked with the disposal of contaminated water is scheduled to compile a set of comprehensive measures to deal with the problem by the end of the year. Earlier, the panel solicited proposals from the public on how to tackle the problem. A total of 779 proposals have been submitted to the committee. The government should adopt any workable proposals submitted from the public and not hesitate to use money from the state coffers to deal with the problem.
　政府の汚染水処理対策委員会は年内に包括的な対策をまとめる。対処案を公募したところ、７７９件が寄せられた。有力な手法はできる限り採用し、国費投入をためらうべきではない。

The NRA must assume its share of responsibility. It is disconcerting to note that the regulatory body has neglected to conduct a review of the safety of TEPCO’s Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant in Niigata Prefecture for more than a month, a procedure necessary for the facility to resume operations. The NRA cited the polluted water problem as a reason for its apparent procrastination. The regulatory authority should play an active role in dealing with the leakage. This is essential in resolving the dispute over the reactivation of nuclear reactors in this country.
　規制委の責任も重い。汚染水問題を理由に、東電柏崎刈羽原発の再稼働に向けた安全審査を１か月以上、放置していることが懸念される。再稼働問題を前に進めるためにも、規制委として汚染水対策に積極的に関与すべきだ。

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Oct. 30, 2013)
（2013年10月30日01時25分  読売新聞）