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Japan to construct ice wall to stem Fukushima radioactive water Japan earmarks $500m for Fukushima cleanup
(35 minutes later)
The Japanese government has announced it is spending 47bn yen (£302m) on an untested subterranean ice wall, in a desperate attempt to stop leaks of radioactive water from the crippled Fukushima nuclear facility, after repeated failures by the plant's operator. Japan's government is to spend almost $500m (£320m) in an attempt to contain leaks and decontaminate highly toxic water at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.
The measures, announced on Tuesday, come as the plant's operator, Tokyo Electric Power (Tepco), struggles to prevent leaks into the Pacific Ocean and to find a way to contain and treat the huge volume of water that has accumulated at the site since it was hit by a tsunami in March 2011.
The decision is widely seen as a safety appeal just days before the International Olympic Committee chooses between Tokyo, Istanbul and Madrid on which city will host the 2020 Olympics.The decision is widely seen as a safety appeal just days before the International Olympic Committee chooses between Tokyo, Istanbul and Madrid on which city will host the 2020 Olympics.
The Fukushima Daiichi plant has been leaking hundreds of tonnes of contaminated underground water into the sea since the 2011 earthquake and tsunami damaged the complex. Several leaks from tanks storing tainted water in recent weeks have heightened the sense of crisis that the utility's owner, Tokyo Electric Power Co, isn't able to contain the problem. The prime minister, Shinzo Abe, said the government would take a more active role in the biggest nuclear cleanup in history, amid mounting concern that Tepco is no longer able to cope alone.
"Instead of leaving this up to Tepco, the government will step forward and take charge," said the prime minister, Shinzo Abe, said after adopting the outline. "The world is watching if we can properly handle the contaminated water but also the entire decommissioning of the plant." "The world is watching to see if we can carry out the decommissioning of the Fukushima nuclear power plant, including addressing the contaminated water issues," Abe reportedly told cabinet ministers.
The government plans to spend the money through the end of 2014 on two projects: the ice wall and upgraded water treatment units that are supposed to remove all radioactive elements but tritium, according to an energy agency official, Tatsuya Shinkawa. Reports said that about 32bn yen of the 47bn yen in new funding would be spent on constructing a 1.4-km-long underground frozen wall around four damaged reactors – an untested and expensive technique. The wall would prevent groundwater from mixing with coolant water that becomes contaminated after it comes into contact with melted nuclear fuel.
The government is not paying for urgently needed water tanks and other equipment that Tepco is using to stop leaks. A further 15bn yen will be spent on improving technology to remove all radioactive particles – except tritium – from the water, or to least reduce them to legally accepted levels.
The ice wall would freeze the ground to a depth of up to 30 meters (100 ft) through a system of thin pipes carrying a coolant as cold as –40C (–40F). It would block contaminated water from escaping the facility's immediate surroundings, as well as keep underground water from entering the reactor and turbine buildings, where most contaminated radioactive water has collected. The head of Japan's nuclear watchdog, Shunichi Tanaka, confirmed on Monday that discharging treated water into the ocean is one option under consideration.
The project, which Tepco and the government proposed in May, is set for completion by March 2015. Given the large volumes involved, experts say that Tepco will soon run out of storage space and will have no choice than to discharge or evaporate the contaminated water.
Similar methods have been used to block water from parts of tunnels and subways, but building a wall that surrounds four reactor buildings and their related facilities is unprecedented. The wall could cost 30bn – 40bn yen for initial installation, plus an annual running and maintenance cost. Last month, Tepco belatedly confirmed reports that coolant water was mixing with groundwater and flowing into the sea at a rate of about 300 tonnes a day.
Tepco has been pumping water into the wrecked reactors to keep cool nuclear fuel that melted when the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami knocked out the plant's power and cooling system. In a separate incident, the utility, which was effectively nationalised last year when it was saved from collapse with a 1tn yen injection of public funds, said a storage tank had sprung a serious leak. Smaller amounts of tainted water are thought to have breached other tanks and pipes.
Tepco has built more than 1,000 tanks holding 335,000 tons of contaminated water at the plant, and the amount grows by 400 tonnes daily. Last weekend, workers recorded radiation levels of up to 1,800 millisieverts an hour near one tank. A radiation dose of that size is big enough to kill an unprotected person nearby in about four hours. Tepco said the radiation was emitted in the form of beta rays – which travel only short distances and can be easily shut out – and that workers had not been put at risk.
Tepco is also constructing an offshore wall of steel panels along the coast to keep contaminants from spreading further into the sea The new funding was announced days before the International Olympic Committee [IOC] is due to select the host city for the 2020 Olympics. Concern is growing that the water crisis could harm Tokyo's chances of being chosen ahead of Madrid and Istanbul.
But Japanese Olympic officials said the Fukushima crisis should not affect Tokyo's prospects. "There is no risk from Fukushima," Tsunekazu Takeda, who is leading the city's bid, told AFP. "Day to day life in Tokyo carries on as normal for its 35 million people.
"The air and water quality is safe. Also the data shows that the radiation level is the same as most cities, like Paris, London and New York. Our main focus is to deliver a great and safe Games."
Abe will deliver Japan's final pitch to the IOC ahead of the decision in Buenos Aires on Saturday evening.
The emergency measures announced on Tuesday do not address the wider problem created by the need to constantly cool the damaged reactors and the resulting buildup of contaminated water. In addition, the new funding represents only a tiny potion of the tens of billions of dollars experts estimate it will cost to decommission the plant, an operation that is likely to last at least 40 years.
No decision has been taken on who will foot the bill – the state or Tepco.
"This is a matter of public safety, so the country has to take the lead on this issue and respond as quickly as possible. Figuring out who to bill for the costs can come later," Akira Amari, the economics minister, told reporters.
Public criticism of Tepco has intensified in recent months. It initially denied reports of groundwater leaks, and was found to have employed just two workers to conduct twice-daily inspections of more than 1,000 storage tanks containing an estimated 330,000 tons of contaminated water.
To compound Tepco's problems, sources familiar with the situation at the plant say the firm is struggling to hire new workers, as others resign or are forced to leave because they have reached their radiation exposure threshold.
Critics of the nuclear industry, even inside the governing Liberal Democratic party, are beginning to ask why no Tepco executives have been held accountable for the latest string of accidents.
"Is anyone at Tepco taking responsibility for these mistakes?" Reuters quoted Taro Kono, an LDP deputy secretary general, as saying. "I haven't heard of anyone stepping down or being fired. Tepco needs to go down and the government needs to take over."
Senior LDP officials have said that liquidating Tepco is not under consideration.