Jun 29 (NHK) - An underground ice wall being built to keep groundwater from entering the crippled nuclear reactor buildings in Fukushima is expected to be completed soon.
Workers at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant are circulating coolant in pipes buried around the buildings to make the 1.5 kilometer-long barrier.
The operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company, hopes to keep groundwater from being contaminated with radioactive substances.
The utility has so far left part of the wall unfrozen, due to fears that freezing the entire area could lead to a sharp drop in groundwater levels outside the reactor buildings, which could cause the tainted water to leak out.
On Wednesday, the Nuclear Regulation Authority gave basic approval for the utility's plan to freeze a 7 meter-wide section that remains on the mountain side.
Utility officials have explained to authority members that the groundwater level won't plunge and that they are prepared for such an emergency.
