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TOKYO: Cooling water levels have dropped in two reactors at the destroyed Fukushima nuclear plant since a powerful earthquake struck the area last weekend, indicating possible additional damage, its operator said on Friday (19 February).
Further damage could further complicate the already difficult process of decommissioning the plant, which is expected to take decades.
Tokyo Electric Power spokesman Keisuke Matsuo said the drop in water levels in Unit 1 and 3 reactors indicates that damage to their primary containment chambers was exacerbated by the magnitude 7.3 earthquake of the Saturday, allowing more water to seep in.
The leaked water is believed to have remained inside the reactor buildings and there is no indication of any outside impact, he said.
In 2011, a powerful 9.1 magnitude earthquake and tsunami damaged cooling systems at the Fukushima plant, causing three reactor cores to melt and nuclear fuel to fall to the bottom of their primary containment vessels.
READ: Japan earthquake brings back memories of deadly 2011 tsunami
TEPCO will monitor the water and temperatures at the bottom of the containment vessels, Matsuo said.
Since the 2011 disaster, cooling water has been constantly leaking from damaged primary containment vessels into the basements of the reactor buildings. To make up for the loss, additional cooling water has been pumped into the reactors to cool the remaining molten fuel. The recent decline in water levels indicates that more water is leaking than before, TEPCO said.
More than 180 people received mostly minor injuries from Saturday’s earthquake, according to the Fire and Disaster Management Agency. The earthquake also led to landslides, damage to homes and a high-speed rail line, and led to widespread disruptions to water and power supplies.
TEPCO initially reported that there were no anomalies at the plant since Saturday’s earthquake.
READ: Japan’s utility company, shaken by earthquake, has adequate generation capacity
Matsuo said that the level of the cooling water dropped to 70 cm in the primary containment chamber of the Unit 1 reactor and about 30 cm in Unit 3. TEPCO could not determine any decrease in Unit 2 because indicators were removed to prepare for the removal of melted debris, he said.
Increased leaks could require more cooling water to be pumped into the reactors, resulting in more polluted water being treated and stored in huge tanks at the plant. TEPCO says its storage capacity of 1.37 million tonnes will be full next summer. A government panel’s recommendation that the sea be gradually released has faced fierce opposition from local residents and a decision is still pending.
