REUTERS, ABC, WALL STREET JOURNAL
TOKYO — Radiation readings near tanks holding toxic waters at the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant have jumped to a new high, according to Japan’s nuclear regulator, as the government prepares to step in to help contain leaks.
According to Reuters, this new rise in the radiation levels and leaks at the plant have prompted international alarm. The Japanese government said on Tuesday it would step in with almost $500 million of funding to fix the growing levels of contaminated water at the plant.
The government’s plan involves spending $320 million on an underground “ice wall” to prevent toxic water from flowing out to sea, ABC reported — while authorities also announced a $150 million plan to upgrade the area’s water treatment plants, in an effort to remove radioactive elements.
Meanwhile, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told the International Olympic Committee that leaks of radioactive water in Fukushima would not be an obstacle in Tokyo’s bid to host the 2020 Olympics, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Fukushima nuclear power plant on March 6, 2013 – Photo: Issei Kato – Jana Press/ZUMA
