Tokyo Electric has a plan to better monitor the 930 radioactive water tanks at its Fukushima No. 1 plant, but it is unclear whether it will be able to lock down the storage problem before the trickle turns into a flood.
The tainted water generated by the makeshift cooling apparatus set up after the nuclear meltdowns has become the second stage of the nuclear crisis for beleaguered Tokyo Electric Power Co., which is unable to protect the Pacific Ocean from its radioactive waste and is coming under increasing pressure to seek outside help.
The immense volume of the water forced Tepco, as the utility is known, to build storage tanks at a rapid pace, but some are dangerously prone to leaks, as well as major quakes, and the safer ones can't be built in time to help, experts say.