Heavy rain floods the basement of Japan's Chiba Quantum Science and Technology Research and Development Institute, and radioactive waste may leak out

(Central News Agency, Chiba Prefecture, comprehensive foreign news report on the 17th) Japan's Chiba Quantum Science and Technology Research and Development Institute stated that due to the heavy rain on August 13, the basement where the radioactive material storage tank was stored was flooded, and the waste liquid may have leaked. However, based on water quality analysis results, the agency stated that there was no impact on the environment.

Kyodo News and Japan Broadcasting Corporation (NHK) reported that the national research institution "Quantum Science and Technology Research and Development Agency" (QST) is located in Inage Ward, Chiba City. At around 8 pm on August 13, staff of the agency discovered that the basement was flooded due to heavy rain.

There are three storage tanks in the basement of the institution, about 2 to 3 meters high, used to store waste liquids used in radioactive materials used in research. Affected by the flooding, three storage barrels were also submerged, and the waste liquid most likely leaked to the outside from the manhole gaps on the top of the storage barrels.

However, the agency collected surrounding water samples for analysis on the 14th, and no radioactive substances exceeding the detection concentration limit were detected. In addition, based on the use records of residual radioactive substances in the storage tank at the time of rainfall, the concentration of radioactive substances was lower than the emission concentration benchmark, and the radiation dose around the facility did not change. Therefore, it was determined that there was no impact on the external environment.

The agency added that on the 14th, it was discovered that the basement door was damaged because it could not withstand the water pressure, and there were signs of water flooding to the ceiling.