Japan Sizes Up Task of Fukushima Waste Disposal

Reuters @ Common Dreams - Six months after the March 11 earthquake and tsunami triggered reactor meltdowns, explosions and radiation leaks at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant on Japan's northeast coast, the size of the task of cleaning up is only now becoming clear.

Contaminated zones where radiation levels need to be brought down could top 2,400 square km (930 square miles), sprawling over Fukushima and four nearby prefectures, the ministry said in a report released on Tuesday.

Tokyo Metropolitan prefecture has a total area of 2,170 square kilometers (840 square miles).  Read more.