» And Now…Polyester Covers Will Be Built Around Melting Down Fukushima Reactors

Wall Street Journal / Dow Jones:

Giant polyester covers will soon be placed around the damaged reactor buildings at Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear complex to help contain the release of radioactive substances into the atmosphere, the plant operator said Friday.

Tokyo Electric Power Co. will install the first cover at the No. 1 reactor, the focus of recent stabilization efforts.

Workers will erect a steel framework and place a giant polyester tent-like cover around the reactor building. The cover will be 55 meters high, 47 meters long and 42 meters wide.

The operation to fit the cover will begin next month. Similar covers will be placed around units Nos. 3 and 4. The work is expected to be completed by the end of the year.

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