nuclear-news

The operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant says the work to freeze soil around the crippled reactors is making progress. It is designed to stop radioactive groundwater from flowing out of the facilities.

Tokyo Electric Power Company began freezing the soil in late March to make a 1.5-kilometer frozen wall surrounding the 4 reactors.

The reactor facilities have been the main source of radioactive contamination of groundwater at the plant.

TEPCO says that as of Tuesday, more than 80 percent of 6,000 checkpoints set up along the wall logged temperatures below zero. The operator says it means the freezing work is going well.

It also says that groundwater levels are rising in areas between the reactor facilities and the frozen wall along the coast. TEPCO officials assume the wall is preventing the water from seeping out. But water is still coming in through some unfrozen parts of the hillside.

Officials told reporters on Thursday that they will further carefully monitor the effect of the frozen wall and seek its completion.

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20160520_03/

Below are diagrams from TEPCO’s newest report:http://www.tepco.co.jp/nu/fukushima-np/handouts/2016/images1/handouts_160519_02-j.pdf