Nuclear security

Public Cost Of Fukushima Nuclear Disaster Continues to Rise

By the end of the 2015 fiscal year, the March 2011 nuclear accident at the Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc.’s (TEPCO) Fukushima plant had cost the public some 4.2 trillion yen (about $42 million). Costs for decommissioning the reactor, compensating victims and radioactive decontamination, amounted to about 33,000 yen per capita. 

TEPCO is seeking additional government assistance as the astronomical price tag for the accident continues to grow. The Japanese government’s special accounts budget shows that about 2.34 trillion yen went to an interim storage facility for contaminated soil, disposal of contaminated water and for the decontamination of affected areas. The government foot most of the bill, mostly through affiliated groups like the Decommissioning Facilitation Corp. and Nuclear Damage Compensation.