Cooling system back on at damaged nuclear plant
Source: Agencies |
April 6, 2013, Saturday
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POWER was restored yesterday to a cooling system at a tsunami-damaged nuclear plant in Japan that failed for the second time in a month. The outage was caused by construction work to keep out rats suspected of setting off the earlier blackout.
Power for the cooling system for a storage pool for fuel was restored after a two-hour break at reactor No. 3, and there was no immediate danger, according to Tokyo Electric Power Co, the utility that operates Fukushima Dai-ichi in northeastern Japan.
Work to put up nets to keep out rats and other animals at the plant inadvertently caused the power outage, a spokesman said.
Details were not clear, and the outage is still being investigated.
A dead rat found near a switchboard was suspected of the power outage last month that led to a cooling system not working for two days.
Nuclear Regulation Authority spokesman Takahiro Sakuma said an alarm went off in the afternoon about the latest problem.
The cooling system can be turned off for two weeks before temperatures approach dangerous levels at the spent fuel storage pools. But if the water runs dry, the fuel rods, even spent ones, will release enormous levels of radiation.
The plant went into meltdown after the March 2011 tsunami damaged backup generators and all cooling systems failed.
The plant is being decommissioned, but continues to have glitches.
Shinzo Abe, who became Japanese prime minister about three months ago, has expressed a desire to restart nuclear plants.
Power for the cooling system for a storage pool for fuel was restored after a two-hour break at reactor No. 3, and there was no immediate danger, according to Tokyo Electric Power Co, the utility that operates Fukushima Dai-ichi in northeastern Japan.
Work to put up nets to keep out rats and other animals at the plant inadvertently caused the power outage, a spokesman said.
Details were not clear, and the outage is still being investigated.
A dead rat found near a switchboard was suspected of the power outage last month that led to a cooling system not working for two days.
Nuclear Regulation Authority spokesman Takahiro Sakuma said an alarm went off in the afternoon about the latest problem.
The cooling system can be turned off for two weeks before temperatures approach dangerous levels at the spent fuel storage pools. But if the water runs dry, the fuel rods, even spent ones, will release enormous levels of radiation.
The plant went into meltdown after the March 2011 tsunami damaged backup generators and all cooling systems failed.
The plant is being decommissioned, but continues to have glitches.
Shinzo Abe, who became Japanese prime minister about three months ago, has expressed a desire to restart nuclear plants.
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