Okuma, Japan: Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe ordered the operator of the country's crippled nuclear power plant on Thursday to scrap all six reactors at the site instead of just four already slated for decommissioning and to concentrate on tackling pressing issues like leaks of radioactive water.
After taking a firsthand look at the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant, however, Abe insisted that radioactive water had been contained at the complex and said he would fend off “rumors” regarding Fukushima's safety.
Following a three-hour tour of the plant, Abe instructed its operator, Tokyo Electric Power Co., to decommission the No. 5 and 6 reactors, which survived the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami.
The disaster caused three other reactors to melt and damaged a fuel cooling pool at another. TEPCO has been unsure about what to do with the two surviving reactors, leading some to believe that it may be hanging on to hopes of resuming their operation.
“I told (TEPCO) to ensure decommissioning of reactors No. 5 and 6 so that they can concentrate more on dealing with the accident,” Abe told workers and reporters as he wrapped up the tour at the plant's emergency command center.
