Fukushima operator unveils newest tainted-water plan

[yuiyoshida]

Tokyo (AFP) —

The operator of Japan’s crippled Fukushima nuclear plant on Thursday unveiled a plan to dump scrubbed water directly into the ocean, sparking concerns over whether it would be properly decontaminated.

The plan, which still needs approval from the nuclear agency and local residents, comes as workers are locked in a daily struggle to safely store radioactive water used to cool reactors that went into meltdown after Japan’s 2011 quake-tsunami disaster.

The tainted water is stored in hundreds of on-site tanks but operator Tokyo Electric Power (TEPCO) has admitted that it’s running out of space.

It is also fighting to contain contaminated groundwater around the plant from seeping into the ocean, more than three years after the worst atomic crisis in a generation.

http://www.japantoday.com/category/national/view/fukushima-operator-unveils-newest-tainted-water-plan