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Japan plant operator starts moving radioactive water into storage

Other News Materials 19 April 2011 08:34 (UTC +04:00)

Workers began moving highly radioactive water to a storage facility Tuesday from a reactor at Japan's troubled nuclear power plant, news reports said.

Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO), which runs the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station in north-eastern Japan, has struggled with contaminated water accumulated in the basement of the turbine building of reactor 2 and in a trench because the water has prevented workers from restoring its key cooling facilities, dpa reported.

TEPCO on Sunday announced the plan to carry out the operation and is seeking to transfer some 30,000 tons of the highly radioactive water to the storage facility.

The company started moving the contaminated water after sealing cracks in the facility's wall Monday.

The plant was crippled by the March 11 earthquake and resulting tsunami. Its power was knocked out and cooling systems failed, leading to fires, explosions, partial meltdown and radiation leaks.

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