Japan spends half a billion dollars to treat radioactive water
The Japanese government announced today that it will spend $470 million to deal with the radioactive water leak at the Fukushima nuclear power plant.
The storage tank leaked 300 tons of radioactive water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant.
into the environment. Photo AFP
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's administration has decided to step in to help Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), the operator of the Fukushima nuclear power plant, deal with a series of problems the company is facing.
About 300 tons of toxic liquid is believed to have leaked from one of the water tanks used to cool the reactors at the Fukushima nuclear power plant on August 22. Japan's nuclear regulator fears the disaster is beyond the ability of TEPCO to cope, as the company faces huge cleanup and compensation costs.
"The government needs to take the lead in dealing with the contamination issue," Shinzo Abe said at a meeting of the nuclear disaster response team. "We will do our utmost and take the necessary financial measures."
For 47 billion yen ($470 million), scientists will freeze the ground around the Fukushima plant, creating a wall to prevent radioactive water from flowing out through the groundwater. The process involves burying vertical pipes and running refrigerant through them.
The project will be implemented over two years at a cost of about 32 billion yen. The remaining 15 billion yen will be used to treat the contaminated water still stored at the plant.
A magnitude 9 earthquake struck the northeastern coast of Japan in March 2011, triggering tsunami waves as high as 15 meters that flooded the shore and damaged the cooling system of the Fukushima I nuclear power plant. The plant was severely damaged and caused the world's most serious nuclear crisis since the Chernobyl disaster in 1986.
According to Express - LY
