TOKYO, Feb. 21 (Kyodo) — Tokyo Electric Power Co. said Tuesday it will cover the seabed near the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant with cement and clay to prevent the spread of large concentrations of radioactive substances that have accumulated there following the leak last April of highly radioactive water from the plant.
Construction for a two-layered cover over an area of around 70,000 square meters will begin Wednesday and is scheduled to take three to four months to complete, it said. The utility known as TEPCO expects the cover to be effective for 50 years.
The move is aimed at preventing the spread of radioactive materials due to waves and vessels coming in and out of the port near the plant, which has been crippled since the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami.