Massive Contaminated Water Tanks May Delay Removal of Japan's TEPCO - Reports

12:06 GMT, 8 March 2019

Eight years ago, Japan's Fukushima nuclear power plant was hit by a powerful tsunami - this resulted in the leakage of radioactive materials and shutdown of the plant. However, the Japanese government continues to struggle with the aftermath of the disaster.

Sputnik

Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) is now challenged with the disposal and storage of 1,000 tanks of water, which is likely to require reprocessing before the water can be released into the ocean. This poses a considerable threat to the Fukushima's plant's decommissioning, as it may seriously delay the process, Reuters reported.

Moreover, according to authorities' estimates, cited by the news agency, the overall pricing of the facility's cleanup, the decontamination of affected areas and compensation may reach 21.5 trillion yen ($192.5 billion), one-fifth of the country's annual budget.

Tsunami Couldn’t Have Been Foreseen, Says Fukushima Plant Operator’s Ex-Chair

30 October 2018, 13:29 GMT

This follows the Tokyo Electric Power Co announcement, made in 2018, that a system designed to clean polluted water had been unsuccessful in completing its task of removing dangerous radioactive contaminants.

In March 2011, a 9.0-magnitude offshore earthquake triggered a tsunami that hit Japan's Fukushima nuclear power plant, leading to the leakage of radioactive materials and a shutdown of the plant. The accident is considered to be the world's worst nuclear disaster since the 1986 tragedy in Chernobyl, which was at the time located in Soviet Ukraine.