Although 34.5 billion yen ($309 million) in taxpayer money has funded an “ice wall” to keep out groundwater from the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant site, the frozen barrier may not be meeting hopes and expectations. In particular, the wall has been vulnerable to heavy rain brought by typhoons. Reducing the volume of radiation-contaminated water is vital to proceeding with the removal of melted fuel from the reactors at the Fukushima No. 1 plant so it can be decommissioned. But officials of Tokyo Electric Power Co., the operator of the plant, are still not completely sure if the ice wall is performing as designed. Heavy rain appears to pose a major problem because the ice wall has so far proved incapable of stopping groundwater when typhoons have passed near the plant.
Asahi Shimbun 26th Nov 2017 read more »
Japan could pump 1,000,000 tons of radioactive water into the sea from Fukushima. More than six years after a tsunami devastated Japan’s west coast and overwhelmed the Fukushima nuclear power plant it has been revealed radioactive water could be pumped into the sea. There are 900 tanks filled with water that could spill if there was another earthquake or tsunami. That has left authorities with a dilemma. Experts have advised the government to carry out a gradual release into the Pacific Ocean. Treatment has removed all the radioactive elements except tritium, which they say is safe in small amounts. Conversely, if the tanks break, their contents could slosh out in an uncontrolled way.
Metro 27th Nov 2017 read more »
Daily Mail 26th Nov 2017 read more »
