Over $628 Billion in Public Costs Cleaning Up Fukushima and Not Near Done

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Since the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant disaster, over $628 billion has been spent in the cleanup process and the cost is continuing to climb. Radioactive decontamination, waste disposal and compensation payments are included in this price. Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) is asking for more taxpayer money to finish the job.

“There are numerous problems that are all interconnected, but one of the biggest that we are facing at the moment is the highly contaminated water that is being stored in huge steel tanks at the site,” Aileen Mioko-Smith, an anti-nuclear activist with the group Green Action Japan, told DW. “They are running out of space at the site to put these tanks, the water that is being generated on a daily basis means they have to keep constructing more, and the ones that are not welded have a history of leaking.”

After the nuclear accident TEPCO, and six other utility companies, all charged consumers at least 327 billion yen in rate hikes to help with the costs from the disaster.

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