by William Skink
While building walls has been a political issue, there is a wall that hasn’t gotten too much attention. It’s official name is the land-side impermeable wall, but it’s more common name is the ice wall. Here is what this wall is supposed to do:
Built by the central government at a cost of 35 billion yen, or some $320 million, the ice wall is intended to seal off the reactor buildings within a vast, rectangular-shaped barrier of man-made permafrost. If it becomes successfully operational as soon as this autumn, the frozen soil will act as a dam to block new groundwater from entering the buildings. It will also help stop leaks of radioactive water into the nearby Pacific Ocean, which have decreased significantly since the calamity but may be continuing.
This is in Japan, of course. The triple meltdown at Fukushima after the earthquake/tsunami is a still ongoing disaster that doesn’t get the media attention it deserves.
Well, it still has my attention, and here is a song/video about it: