IAEA urges Japan to tackle buildup of contaminated water at Fukushima nuclear plant

Japan must urgently tackle a buildup of contaminated water at its Fukushima nuclear plant, which was destroyed by an earthquake and tsunami more than seven years ago, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has said. The call came on Tuesday after a site visit by IAEA experts, which followed last month’s admission by plant owner Tokyo Electric Power (Tepco) that water treated there still contained radioactive material, despite having said for years that it had been removed, according to Reuters. A decision on disposing of the water “must be taken urgently, engaging all stakeholders, to ensure the sustainability of the decommissioning activities,” the IAEA said after its team spent about a week reviewing cleanup efforts. The agency said dealing with the water was “critical” to the cleanup after three reactors had meltdowns following explosions in the wake of the loss of power and cooling arrangements after the March 2011 quake and tsunami.