<p>   The feasibility test will start by mid-October at the earliest and will involve driving steel pipes 30 metres deep into the soil near the No.4 reactor building, reported Xinhua.u00a0</p>  <p class="caption">   <img alt="" src="http://images.mid-day.com/2013/sep/fukushima.jpg" style="width: 500px; height: 374px;" /><br />   <strong>Pic:AFP</strong></p>  <p>   u00a0</p>  <div id="cke_pastebin">   The pipes will surround a 10 square metre area, initially, the officials said, and liquid calcium chloride at minus 40 degrees Celsius will be injected into the pipes to freeze the surrounding soil.u00a0</div>  <div id="cke_pastebin">   u00a0</div>  <div id="cke_pastebin">   The test is designed to check whether such an &quot;ice wall&quot; is capable of stopping the flow of contaminated groundwater. The duration of the test period will be five months, said the officials.u00a0</div>  <div id="cke_pastebin">   u00a0</div>  <div id="cke_pastebin">   Japan&#39;s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, along with other members of the government&#39;s nuclear disaster task-force, Tuesday approved the basic plan to construct a 1.4 km-long underground frozen wall around four damaged reactors at the stricken facility.u00a0</div>  <div id="cke_pastebin">   u00a0</div>  <div id="cke_pastebin">   By creating an ice wall, the government believes that groundwater will be prevented from mixing with coolant water that is becoming contaminated after coming into contact with melted nuclear fuel.u00a0</div>  <div id="cke_pastebin">   u00a0</div>  <div id="cke_pastebin">   Under its current plans and provided that the tests prove to be successful, the wall will be operational by the end of March 2015, government officials confirmed Thursday.u00a0</div>  <div id="cke_pastebin">   u00a0</div>  <div id="cke_pastebin">   The government has come under increasing pressure to take a more proactive role in tackling the Fukushima crisis after a series of gaffes by Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO), including hugely inaccurate reporting of radiation levels, shoddy efforts to patch up a leaking tank responsible for 300 tonnes of toxic water flowing freely into the Pacific, and failing to detect the leak in the first place.</div>

The Japanese government will soon begin a test to surround the leaking Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant with an 'ice wall' to arrest the flow of contaminated groundwater, government officials confirmed Thursday

Fukushima crisis: 'Ice wall' test to begin soon

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Fukushima crisis: 'Ice wall' test to begin soon

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