Japan nuclear operator scraps plan to dump contaminated water in sea

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Source: Reuters

Tepco, the operator of Japan's Fukushima nuclear power plant, has said it is scrapping a plan to dump water it treated for radiation contamination into the sea. The backdown was forced by fierce protests from fishing groups.

Tokyo Electric Power had said on Thursday it was considering discharging some treated water into the sea because it was running out of storage space. That caused an uproar among Japanese fishing cooperatives.

"Treated" means once-high radioactive content has been reduced considerably but not completely.

The Fukushima plant was struck by a devastating quake and tsunami in March and has released radiation into the atmosphere carried by winds, rain and snow ever since.

Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/dec/09/japan-nuclear-operator-scraps-plans