Fukushima Nuclear Plant Operator Says 600 Tons of Melted Fuel Is Missing

The chief of clean-up at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant, which was devastated by a tsunami in 2011, says 600 tons of reactor fuel that melted during the disaster is missing

This Nov. 12, 2011, photo shows workers in protective suits and masks as they wait to enter the emergency operation center at the crippled Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power station in Okuma, Japan. AP Photo/David Guttenfelder

Thousands of bags of radiation contaminated soil and debris wait to be processed, inside the exclusion zone, close to the devastated Fukushima nuclear plant on February 26, 2016, in Okuma, Japan. Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

Naoto Kan, Japan’s prime minister at the time of the tsunami, once supported nuclear power, but now says those who argue nuclear power is a safe, cheap source of energy are misguided, according to “Foreign Correspondent.”

“So far, the government is paying $70 billion to support TEPCO,” Kan said.

“But that is not enough. It will probably cost more than $240 billion. I think 40 years [to decommission the plant] is an optimistic view.”

Since the Fukushima disaster, more than 10,000 people have not been able to return to their homes because of elevated radiation levels.

However, some residents have gone back since the decontamination work was finished, which involved removing up to 15 centimeters of topsoil from fields and from around homes.

More than 10 million bags of contaminated soil and waste have been collected so far. The bags are stored in thousands of areas around the plant, some piles measuring several stories high.

“In order for people to come back, we need to show that the Fukushima plant is in a stable condition,” Masuda said.

“We need to make that the situation … we’re working on something [for] which there is no textbook,” he added.