It’s unclear what the plant will look like when the work there is done. There are about 500,000 tons of solid radioactive waste, including contaminated debris and soil, sludge from water treatment, scrapped tanks and other waste. TEPCO says it needs to get rid of the water storage tanks to free up space at the plant so workers can build facilities that will be used to study and store melted fuel and other debris. Technology also isn’t advanced enough yet to manage the waste by reducing its toxicity. _ WHAT’S THE ENDGAME?Ī decade after the accident, Japan doesn’t yet have a plan to dispose of the highly radioactive melted fuel, debris and waste at the plant. On a recent visit, AP journalists donned partial protective gear to tour a low-radiation area: a helmet, double socks, cotton gloves, surgical masks, goggles and a vest with a personal dosimeter.įull protection gear, which means hazmat coveralls, a full-face mask, a head cover, triple socks and double rubber gloves, was required at a shared storage pool where fuel relocation from the No. In another building, plant workers - about 4,000 per day now - go through automated security checkpoints and radiation measurements.īecause radiation levels have fallen significantly following decontamination, full protection gear is only needed in a few places in the plant, including in and around the melted reactor buildings. The first thing visitors see is a stylish office building that holds the TEPCO decommissioning unit. TEPCO has managed to cut the amount of contaminated water to one-third of what it used to be through a series of measures. TEPCO and government officials say tritium, which is not harmful in small amounts, cannot be removed from the water, but all other isotopes selected for treatment can be reduced to safe levels for release. A decision on that recommendation is pending. A government panel’s recommendation that the water be released into the sea is facing fierce opposition from local residents, especially fishermen concerned about further damage to the area’s reputation. TEPCO says the tanks’ 1.37 million ton storage capacity will be full in 2022. The 1,000 tanks filled with treated but still radioactive water tower over workers and visitors at the plant. _ WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO THE STORED RADIOACTIVE WATER?
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