In Japan, the energy company operating the damaged Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant has announced plans to build an underwater tunnel for releasing 1.27 million tonnes of treated water from the cooling structures of the defunct power station, British news portal The Guardian reports.
Tokyo Electric Power Co released plans for the 1km tunnel were on Wednesday, August 25, after the Japanese government decided in April to release the accumulated water in two years’ time.
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Japanese ministers say the release is safe because the water will have been processed to remove almost all radioactive elements, and will be diluted, yet the April decision triggered a furious reaction from neighbouring countries, and fierce opposition from local fishing communities.
Tokyo Electric Power Co stated it would start building the tunnel by March 2022 after carrying out feasibility studies and obtaining approval from authorities. It will have a diameter of about 2.5 metres and stretch east into the Pacific from tanks at the plant containing around 1.27m tonnes of treated water. That includes water used to cool the plant, which was crippled after going into meltdown following a huge 2011 tsunami, as well as rain and groundwater that seeps in daily, The Guardian reports.