Japan to use public funds to deal with radioactive water in Fukushima
THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
The central government is going ahead with a plan to use public funds in an attempt to stop radioactive water at the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant from flowing into the ocean, as operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. is seen as incapable of coping with the problem on its own.
"The problem of contaminated water is the most pressing. Rather than leave it up to TEPCO, the central government will come up with the measures to deal with it. The industry minister will instruct TEPCO in order to implement swift and multilayered measures," Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told a meeting of the Nuclear Emergency Response Headquarters on Aug. 7.
The Agency for Natural Resources and Energy released the results of a study that estimated about 1,000 tons of groundwater was flowing daily from nearby mountains to the ocean in the vicinity of the Fukushima No. 1 plant. Of that amount, about 400 tons is being contaminated with radiation after flowing into reactor buildings and other facilities at the plant site.
Of the remaining 600 tons of groundwater, about half was coming into contact with soil contaminated by radioactive materials around the reactor buildings and flowing into the ocean, according to the report.
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http://ajw.asahi.com/article/0311disaster/fukushima/AJ201308080053