nuclear-news

$125 billion and decades to clean up Fukushima – says TEPCO

The clean-up is expected to take decades, with scientists warning that some settlements may have to be abandoned.

The company said it would need more government help to meet the colossal figure

Fukushima operator warns clean-up ‘may cost $125 bn’ By Kyoko Hasegawa (AFP)  7 Nov 12 TOKYO — The cost of the clean-up and compensation after Japan’s Fukushima nuclear power plant disaster may double to $125 billion, the plant’s operator warned Wednesday. Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) said decontamination of irradiated areas and compensating those whose jobs or home lives have been affected would cost much more than the five trillion yen it estimated in April.
“There is a view that we may need the same amount (again) of
additional money for the decontamination of low-level radiation areas
and costs of temporary facilities for storing waste,” the company said
in a statement.
The utility — one of the world’s biggest — received one trillion yen
of public cash in April in exchange for granting the government a
controlling stake.
The money was on top of previous grants and loans. It was intended to
prevent the company, which generates and supplies electricity to
millions of people, including in and around Tokyo, from going under.
But on Wednesday, as it presented a new management plan, TEPCO said it
was looking at a bill of up to 10 trillion yen ($125 billion) — equal
to around two percent of Japan’s gross domestic product or 11 percent
of the country’s annual budget.
The company said it would need more government help to meet the colossal figure……
The clean-up is expected to take decades, with scientists warning that some settlements may have to be abandoned.
In October TEPCO admitted it had played down known tsunami risks for
fear of the political, financial and reputational cost.
The confession was one of the starkest yet by a company that has
fallen very far out of favour in Japan and has been criticised for
trying to shirk responsibility for the worst nuclear disaster in a
generation…….
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jbDwBCdfyO8lz4LNAYPgqVNPO0RQ?docId=CNG.9394a22b87c85b55c6e1f77e575fb76d.5e1

November 9, 2012 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | Fukushima 2012, Japan, wastes