TEPCO mulls sinking walls around Japan reactors

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FE Team | Published: April 24, 2011 00:00:00 | Updated: February 01, 2018 00:00:00

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TOKYO, Apr 23: The operator of Japan's Fukushima nuclear plant is considering installing underground walls around its crippled reactors to prevent radioactive water seeping out, a broadcaster said Saturday. Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) is studying the measure to contain contaminated water leaking from the plant's reactors which were damaged in the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, TV Asahi said citing unnamed sources. Workers would have to dig to a depth of 15 metres (50 feet) to reach an impervious layer to build the walls on, it said. TEPCO has dumped a massive amount of water into reactor containers and overheating pools containing spent nuclear fuel rods, after the magnitude 9.0 quake triggered monster waves which knocked out the plant's cooling systems. Workers battling to stabilise the battered nuclear facility later found highly contaminated water submerging turbine buildings and underground tunnels, with some running off from a cracked concrete pit into the Pacific Ocean. They sealed the crack but have faced a challenge in trying to ensure no underground water seeps out of the plant. The report came a day after former construction minister Sumio Mabuchi, who is now one of Prime Minister Naoto Kan's advisors, suggested the plan.