Japan to create underground ice wall in Fukushima nuclear plant

After more than a year of back and forth, Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) announced that has managed to get the Japanese nuclear regulator‘s approval to create a giant ice wall of frozen soil to hold the leakage of contaminated groundwater, in Fukushima nuclear plant. Image © Japantimes

The underground ice wall intending to block groundwater from nearby hillsides that has been flowing under the plant and mixing with polluted water, after the earthquake and tsunami that wrecked the nuclear plant in 2011.

One official said on condition of anonymity:

“We had some concerns, including the possibility that part of the ground could sink.

But there were no major objections to the project during the meeting, and we concluded that TEPCO can go ahead with at least part of the project as proposed after going through further necessary procedures.”