More water tanks

April 4, 2014

TEPCO to add more water storage tanks by March 31

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/news/20140405_11.html 

The operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant says it plans to add more tanks to store contaminated water by the end of next March. That would move the plan up a year earlier than originally scheduled.

Tokyo Electric Power Company will increase the capacity of the tanks to up to 800,000 tons by March 31st.

Currently, tanks at the plant can store about 480,000 tons of radioactive water, but 90 percent of them are already full.

TEPCO has been building additional tanks on the southern side of the compound to handle the buildup of contaminated water.

The utility says it has accelerated the construction plan as it is now possible to transport prefabricated tanks from manufacturers by ship.

TEPCO officials also say they have come up with more efficient ways to build tanks inside the compound.

Meanwhile, the company plans to build frozen walls around reactor buildings to prevent groundwater from flowing beneath the facilities and decrease the amount of contaminated water.

TEPCO officials say they now expect the amount of contaminated water to be less than 800,000 tons by March 2016.

Apr. 4, 2014 - Updated 23:58 UTC