Japan’s quake-crippled atomic power station will take years to fully stabilise but officials hope to prevent any further deterioration of the plant and stem the leakage of radioactive material into surrounding areas within a matter of weeks.
Workers are battling to contain radiation from the power station amid signs it may be continuously leaking into the sea. The huge earthquake and tsunami that ravaged Japan’s north-eastern coast on March 11 knocked out the plant’s cooling systems.
Yukio Edano, Japan’s chief cabinet secretary and the minister responsible for co-ordinating efforts to resolve the nuclear crisis, told the Financial Times that new setbacks at the Fukushima Daiichi plant were possible. However, the government hoped within weeks to be able to stem the leakage of radiation and prevent the situation at the plant worsening.