Fukushima to Run out of Water Storage by 2022

福島核電站將在2022年前耗盡儲水空間

Operators of Japan’s Fukushima nuclear plant have predicted it will run out of storage space for radioactive water in three years.

日本福島核電站的運營方預計，福島核電站將在3年內(nèi)耗盡放射性污水的儲存空間。

The Tokyo Electric Company, or TEPCO, recently said the contaminated water will likely fill up all the plant’s available tanks by summer of 2022.

東京電力公司最近表示，受污染的水可能會在2022年夏天之前填滿該電站所有可用的儲水箱。

Three reactors at the Fukushima plant suffered meltdowns after a 2011 earthquake and tsunami shut down the plant’s cooling systems.

2011年的那場地震和海嘯導致該電站冷卻系統(tǒng)被關閉，在此之后，福島核電站的三座核反應堆發(fā)生了熔芯。

It was the world’s worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl in 1986.

這是1986年切爾諾貝利事件之后全球發(fā)生的最為嚴重的核災難。

The accident forced 160,000 people to flee contaminated areas near the plant and many never returned.

這次事故迫使16萬人逃離工廠附近的污染區(qū)域，很多人再也沒有返回。

Since the disaster, radioactive water has leaked from damaged reactors and mixed with groundwater and rainwater at the plant.

自從災害發(fā)生以來，放射性污水從受損反應堆泄漏出來，并與電站的地下水和雨水混合。

The water is treated to remove harmful materials and stored in large tanks.

這些水經(jīng)過處理除去有害物質(zhì)，并儲存在大型水箱中。

But TEPCO has said the treatment process cannot remove all radioactive particles from the water.

但是東京電力公司表示，這種處理過程無法除去水中的所有放射性粒子。

Plant officials say more than one million tons of water is currently being stored in nearly 1,000 tanks.

電站官員表示，目前有近100萬噸水儲存在近1000個水箱中。

TEPCO says it plans to build more tanks to hold additional water.

東京電力公司表示，該公司計劃建造更多水箱儲存更多的水。

But even then, it predicts it will only be able to accept a total of 1.37 million tons.

但是即便如此，該公司預計也只能容納137萬噸水。

That would cause Fukushima to run out of space for water in 2022.

這將會導致福島核電站在2022年耗盡所有儲水空間。

A government group studying future storage solutions have identified several possibilities for dealing with the continued supply of contaminated water.

政府一個研究未來儲水解決方案的小組明確了處理持續(xù)不斷的污水的幾種可能方案。

One proposal would involve the controlled release of water into the Pacific Ocean.

其中一項建議是將污水有控制地排入太平洋。

Some nuclear experts, including members of the International Atomic Energy Agency, have said they believe that plan is the most realistic.

包括國際原子能機構(gòu)成員在內(nèi)的一些核老師表示，他們認為這是最現(xiàn)實的一種方案。

However, fishermen and many people living in the area strongly oppose that proposal.

然而，當?shù)貪O民和居民強烈反對這一提議。

They have said releasing the water into the ocean could cause widespread damage to Fukushima’s fishing and agriculture industries.

他們說將水排入太平洋可能會對福島漁業(yè)和農(nóng)業(yè)產(chǎn)生廣泛性的破壞。

Additional methods under consideration include ground injection or converting the radioactive water to steam or hydrogen and releasing it into the atmosphere.

其它考慮的方案包括注入地下或是將放射性污水蒸發(fā)進入大氣。

Some nuclear experts have warned that additional long-term storage might be necessary if officials cannot decide on any of the proposals under consideration.

一些核老師警告說，如果官員們無法選定任何考慮中的提案，就可能需要更多的長期儲存空間。

But this would require additional land and storage tanks to be built.

但是這需要更多土地以及建造更多水箱。

TEPCO spokesman Junichi Matsumoto told reporters the organization thinks contaminants produced from Fukushima work should stay within the plant area.

東京電力公司發(fā)言人松本純一告訴記者，該組織認為福島核電站產(chǎn)生的污染物應該留在電站內(nèi)。

He said long-term storage would delay other activities at the plant.

他說，長期儲存將會延緩電站的其它活動。

Matsumoto did not name a deadline for deciding what to do with the contaminated water.

松本純一并未確定決定如何處理這些污水的最后期限。

But he said he hopes to see the government lead public debates on the issue.

但是他表示，他希望看到政府引導公眾就這個問題進行辯論。