Japan built underground ice walls to isolate radiation

The Japanese nuclear agency has just approved a plan to freeze ground under the Fukushima nuclear plant, in an attempt to slow the accumulation of radioactive water.

The Nuclear Regulation Agency has examined plans to build an underground ice wall at Tokyo Electric Power Co's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant (TEPCO), which is scheduled to begin in June.

The wall was designed to prevent groundwater from nearby hillsides flowing into the factory and mixing into contaminated water used to cool broken reactors after months of earthquakes and tsunamis. 3/2011. Under the plan, funded by the government, TEPCO will lead a special refrigerant through the underground pipeline system to create a 1.5km-long ice wall to block groundwater flow.

Japan created an underground ice wall at Fukushima nuclear plant

"We have raised a few concerns, including the possibility that some of the ground may be landslide. But during the meetings, most people agreed and we came to the conclusion that TEPCO has can start implementing at least part of the project as proposed, after having passed the necessary procedures , " an unnamed official said.

However, TEPCO will likely have to consider other parts of the project because of concerns that it may affect existing plant structures such as the underground drainage system, he added.

The idea of ​​partial ground freezing, which was proposed for Fukushima last year, has previously been used in the construction of tunnels near canals but has never been done with scale and length like the project. this.

Dealing with the growing amount of water at a damaged nuclear plant is one of the biggest challenges for TEPCO in its efforts to clean up radiation after the worst nuclear disaster in a generation.

Last week, TEPCO began deploying a system to divert groundwater into the sea to try to reduce the volume of contaminated water.

To shut down the entire Fukushima plant will take decades. An area around the factory is still out of bounds and experts warn that some nearby settlements may be evacuated because of high radiation levels.