Gov't says Fukushima plant leaking 300 tons of toxic water into sea daily: So a little more each day.. let the sheeple down gently : Japan Today

Wednesday, 7 August 2013

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NATIONAL AUG. 07, 2013 - 05:50PM JST ( 32 ) TOKYO —

A Japanese government official on Wednesday said an estimated 300 tons of contaminated water is leaking into the ocean per day from the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant, after Prime Minister Shinzo Abe pledged on Wednesday to step up government efforts to stem radioactive water leakage.

Abe ordered the Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry to urgently deal with the water situation and ensure the plant’s operator, Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO), takes appropriate action to deal with the cleanup, which is expected to take more than 40 years and cost $11 billion.

The ministry official also said the government plans to reduce the leakage amount to 60 tons per day by as early as December.

“Stabilizing the Fukushima plant is our challenge,” Abe said at a meeting of the government’s disaster task force. “In particular, the contaminated water is an urgent issue which has generated a great deal of public attention.”

Abe said the clean-up would no longer be left to TEPCO alone, as he called for “swift and steady measures” on the toxic water issue. Tokyo would now help foot the bill, Abe said, the first time that it has committed extra funds to deal with the growing tainted water problem.

The Nikkei newspaper said the funds would be used to freeze the soil to prevent groundwater from leaking into the reactor buildings - a project with an estimated cost of up to 40 billion yen.

“The government must take a step forward and get involved in achieving this (coping with the contaminated water),” Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told a regular news conference.

The government moves appear to be in response to warnings by industry experts that TEPCO’s failure to address the problem questioned its ability to safely decommission the Fukushima Daiichi plant.

The utility has been widely castigated for its failure to prepare for the massive 2011 tsunami and earthquake. It has also been criticized for its inept response to the disaster and covering up shortcomings.

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[link to www.japantoday.com]

Posted by citizenperth

[link to fukushimaemergencywhatcanwedo.blogspot.com.au]

Last Edited by CitizenPerth™ on 08/07/2013 06:41 AM