Fe Bongolan

Planet Waves writer Fe Bongolan lives in Oakland, California. Her column "Fe-911," has been featured on Planet Waves since 2008. As an actor and dramaturge, Fe is a core member of Cultural Odyssey's "The Medea Project -- Theater for Incarcerated Women," producing work that empowers the voices of all women in trouble, from ex-offenders, women with HIV-AIDS, to young girls and women at risk. A Planet Waves fan from almost the beginning of Eric's astrology career, Fe is a public sector employee who describes herself as a "mystical public servant." When it comes to art, culture and politics, she loves reading between the lines.

Flying Blind

This press release was issued by TEPCO yesterday:

Discharge of low level radioactive accumulated water in the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station to the sea

There is currently great amount of radioactive waste water in the turbine buildings of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station and especially the turbine building of Unit 2 has extremely high level radioactive waste water.

We think it is necessary to transfer the radioactive waste water to the Central Radioactive Waste Disposal Facility in order to store it in a stable condition. However, ten thousand of low level radioactive waste water has been already stored and we have to discharge the existing low level radioactive waste water to receive new liquids.

In addition, as low radioactive subsurface water is piling up in sub-drain pits of Unit 5 and 6 and a part of subsurface water is running into buildings, we are concerned that important equipment to secure the safety of reactors will be submerged.

Based on the Section 1 of the Article 64 of the Nuclear Reactor Regulation Law, we have decided to discharge to the sea approximately ten thousand tons of the accumulated low level radioactive water and a total of 1,500 tons of the low level radioactive subsurface water stored in the sub drain pits of Unit 5 and 6 as soon as we get ready.

We evaluate approximately 0.6 mSv of effective radioactive doses per year for adults as the impact on the discharge of the low radioactive waste water to the sea if they eat adjacent fish and seaweeds every day. The amount (0.6 mSv of effective radioactive doses per year) is one-fourth of annual radioactive dose to which the general public is exposed in nature.

Since the March 11 earthquake and tsunami the Japanese government and TEPCO, (the Tokyo Electric Power Company) have been at an information impasse. With no direct admission of risk by TEPCO there was no risk to communicate by the government. The primary victims of the tug of war for truthful information continue to be the residents in areas surrounding the Fukushima-Daiichi Plant, and the populations in its outlying vicinities. Now add to the mix the glorious Pacific Ocean, on the day Neptune entered Pisces for the first time since it left that sign in 1862. 

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