Japan Looks To Giant Washer
To Clean Fukushima Debris
Fukushima Nuclear Crisis
EMF Radiation Protection
Electromagnetic Radiation Meter
DECEMBER 1, 2011
TOKYO - Japan is looking to
launder tsunami debris in a giant washing machine to get rid
of radiation from the Fukushima nuclear accident, a
researcher said Friday.
In a scheme they hope will
result in finally being able to dispose of contaminated
waste left by the waves that crushed towns on the country’s
northeast coast, a cleaning plant will be built near the
Fukushima Daiichi power station.
Shredded waste — including
the remains of houses and cars destroyed by the tsunami —
will be put inside a huge water-filled drum where steel
attachments will scrub away radioactive particles, the
researcher told AFP.
The plan is a joint scheme
between Tokyo-based construction company Toda Corp. and the
Japan Atomic Energy Agency.
“We, as a general contractor,
have experience of cleaning soil and hope that we will
eventually be able to decontaminate soil as well as debris,”
said a research at Toda Corp, who asked not to be named.
He said researchers will
experiment with pure water and detergents to find the best
way to decontaminate the waste and hope to be able to
recycle the water using a series of filters.
In an initial test they will
use a tub 120 centimetres (four feet) long and plan to
install multiple washing drums three times larger than that
once the project fully launches, he said.
Large areas around the
Fukushima plant have been left contaminated with radiation
since the tsunami of March 11 knocked out its cooling
systems and sent reactors into meltdown.
The world’s worst nuclear
accident since Chernobyl has not directly claimed any lives,
but has left tens of thousands of people displaced and
rendered whole towns uninhabitable, possibly for decades.
The radiation that has leaked
from the crippled reactors has contaminated the waste left
behind by the tsunami, complicating the clean-up operation.
The Japanese government and
plant operator Tokyo Electric Power have pledged to bring
the reactors to a state of cold shutdown by the end of the
year.
Government planners have said
radiation-contaminated debris could be stored in a facility
in Fukushima prefecture for at least 30 years until its
final destination is determined.
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