Latest incident highlights battle to clean up the plant nearly 11 years after disaster
Elaine Lies and Ju-min ParkThe operator of Japan's crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant said earlier in January two storage tanks had leaked about four tonnes of coolant solution used to create an ice wall that prevented groundwater from seeping in.
It also comes just as the utility is readying to build a tunnel to the sea to release more than 1-million tonnes of irradiated water from the site, after treatment, in an effort set to start around the spring of 2023.In operation since 2016, the ice wall, as the structure is called, is really more like a barrier of frozen soil. Built by Kajima Corporation, it cost ¥34.5bn in public funds.
Now space is running out, as nearly 1.3-million tonnes of such water has accumulated, or enough to fill about 500 swimming pools of Olympic size.in about 1,500 tubes filled with brine located at a depth of 30m along a perimeter of 1.5km around the plant. The spokesperson was unable to immediately confirm the cause of earlier leaks, but said similar reasons were likely.
The treated water is to be pumped from tanks for release at a depth of 12m, with construction set to start in 2022.
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