FUKUSHIMA, Japan
Workers have begun construction of an enormous facility near the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, which is expected to be capable of storing 30 million tons of soil and other radioactive waste on completion.
After months of delay due to difficulties obtaining agreement from local authorities and residents, the facilities -- on around 16 square kilometers of land -- are expected to store contaminated soil and other materials collected during radiation cleanup activities in the area.
In 2011, the plant went into failure, a 15-metre tsunami triggered by the Tohoku earthquake disabling the power supply and cooling of three of Fukushima Daiichi's six reactors.
According to the World Nuclear Association, all three cores largely melted in the first few days.
Since then Japan -- struggling to cope with the death of over 19,000 people in the tsunami -- has endeavored to prevent any release of radioactive materials, particularly in contaminated water leaking from the units.
Japanese news agency Kyodo reported Tuesday that the government has said it plans to begin moving waste to the site by March 11, the fourth anniversary of the tsunami.
The site is not for storing tainted waste generated within the crippled plant.
