BBC:
The ongoing cleanup efforts at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear
power plant in Japan ran into another snag when workers found a
leak in a wastewater storage tank. Water is being pumped into
the damaged reactors to cool them. Then the radioactive water
is collected and stored in large tanks. A recent typhoon
increased the amount of water that had to be stored, so Tepco
has been filling the containers to the brim. The leak occurred
because the storage container was placed on slightly tilted
ground and a miscalculation caused it to overflow. An estimated
430 L (100 gal) of water spilled out of the container. The
cleanup efforts following the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and
tsunami that damaged the plant have found several leaks, and it
still isn't clear whether the damaged reactors themselves are
leaking directly into the ground water. Tepco currently is
planning
to build an undergound ice wall around the site to prevent
radioactive water from spreading farther.
