Japan: Fukushima clean-up may take up to 40 years, plant’s operator says

By Yoko Wakatsuki, CNN and Elaine Yu, for CNN
2 minute read
Published 3:29 AM EST, Thu February 11, 2016
A TEPCO employee walks past the No. 1 reactor at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant on February 10, 2016. Next month, Japan will mark the fifth anniversary of the Fukushima disaster, when an earthquake and tsunami hit on March 11, 2011, leaving more than 15,000 people dead.
A TEPCO employee walks past the No. 1 reactor at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant on February 10, 2016. Next month, Japan will mark the fifth anniversary of the Fukushima disaster, when an earthquake and tsunami hit on March 11, 2011, leaving more than 15,000 people dead.
Toru Hanai/Pool Photo via AP
TEPCO employees, in blue protective suits, brief a press group in front of storage tanks for radioactive water on Februray 10.
TEPCO employees, in blue protective suits, brief a press group in front of storage tanks for radioactive water on Februray 10.
Toru Hanai/Pool Photo via AP
A member of the tour group, donning a protective suit and a mask, takes a look at the crippled No. 3 reactor on February 10.
A member of the tour group, donning a protective suit and a mask, takes a look at the crippled No. 3 reactor on February 10.
Toru Hanai/Pool Photo via AP
A TEPCO employee measures a radiation level of 213 microsieverts per hour in front of the No. 2, left, and No. 3 reactor buildings on February 10.
A TEPCO employee measures a radiation level of 213 microsieverts per hour in front of the No. 2, left, and No. 3 reactor buildings on February 10.
Toru Hanai/Pool Photo via AP
A worker approaches the No. 3 reactor on February 10.
A worker approaches the No. 3 reactor on February 10.
Toru Hanai/Pool Photo via AP
A worker levels out the ground at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant on February 10.
A worker levels out the ground at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant on February 10.
Toru Hanai/Pool Photo via AP
Workers, wearing protective suits and masks, stand near the No. 3 and No. 4 reactor buildings on February 10.
Workers, wearing protective suits and masks, stand near the No. 3 and No. 4 reactor buildings on February 10.
Toru Hanai/Pool Photo via AP
Inside Fukushima: Cleanup underway, 5 years on

Story highlights

Decommissioning the Fukushima nuclear plant is estimated to take up to 40 years

The plant is now stable, according to TEPCO, its operator

Biggest challenge is to take out the molten nuclear fuel debris

Tokyo CNN  — 

Cleaning up Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, which suffered catastrophic meltdowns after an earthquake and tsunami hit in 2011, may take up to 40 years.

The crippled nuclear reactor is now stable but the decommissioning process is making slow progress, says the plant’s operator Tokyo Electric Power Co, better known as TEPCO.

“If I may put this in terms of mountain climbing, we’ve just passed the first station on a mountain of 10 stations,” said Akira Ono, head of the Fukushima plant.

It’s almost five years since the earthquake and the tsunami it triggered killed more than 15,000 people and destroyed coastal towns on March 11, 2011.

TEPCO has attracted fierce criticism for its handling of the disaster.

A worker takes notes in front of storage tanks for radioactive water at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant on February 10.
A worker takes notes in front of storage tanks for radioactive water at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant on February 10.
Toru Hanai/Pool Photo via AP

Biggest challenge

The biggest obstacle to closing down the plant permanently is removing all the melted nuclear fuel debris from three reactors, Ono told reporters after a press tour of the plant this week.

But TEPCO says it is in the dark about the current state of the debris.

Hydrogen gas explosions and nuclear meltdowns released lethal levels of radiation in 2011.

vos fukushima nuclear plant_00002024.jpg
vos fukushima nuclear plant_00002024.jpg
Courtesy TEPCO
video

Related video Eerie footage from inside Fukushima's nuclear plant

Though radiation levels have fallen, they still prevent workers from accessing the reactor buildings, making it hard to survey the condition of the destroyed facilities and molten fuel debris.

What to do with the large volume of contaminated water now stored at the plant is another problem.

Around 300 to 400 tons of contaminated water is generated every day as groundwater flows into the plant filled with radioactive debris.

To contain the tainted water, TEPCO pumps up the water and stores it in tanks, adding a new tank every three to four days. There are 1,000 tanks today containing 750,000 tons of contaminated water.

Japan fires up second reactor since Fukushima disaster amid widespread opposition

Japan Fukshima Life Hancocks PKG
video

Related video Living in limbo near Fukushima

However, decontamination elsewhere on the premises is making headway. Workers now only need dust masks for a large part of the plant.

For outsiders, this appears to be only small progress. But it makes a huge difference for workers who used to wear full masks for outside clean-up and construction work.

Last year in October, Japan confirmed the first case of cancer in a Fukushima worker.

While agreeing to cover the worker’s treatment costs, the government stopped short of recognizing the scientific link between the cancer and his work.

Photojournalists document the human cost: Rebuilding lives after Fukushima