Insight - Fukushima water tanks: leaky and built with illegal labor

As has been reported earlier - the water storage tanks at the Fukushima site were shoddily built using labor teams that were questionable.

Storage tanks at the Fukushima nuclear plant like one that spilled almost 80,000 gallons of radioactive water this year were built in part by workers illegally hired in one of the poorest corners of Japan, say labor regulators and some of those involved in the work.

These bolted-style storage tanks, each as tall as a 3-storey building, were intended to last only until 2016, giving Tepco time to have a purification system in place so contaminated water could be cleansed and safely discharged.

In August, one of the tanks was discovered to have leaked about 300 tons of water, raising global alarm over Japan's handling of the crisis and prompting the government to order that the makeshift, bolted tanks like those assembled by the Okinawa crew be replaced by sturdier, welded tanks.

Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/12/05/us-japan-nuclear-fukushima-labour-insigh-idUSBRE9B415P20131205