Radioactive water leaks from Japan reactor
Source: Agencies |
February 3, 2012, Friday
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Print Edition
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MORE than 8 tons of radioactive water leaked from a reactor at Japan's Fukushima nuclear plant but none reached outside the reactor building, Tokyo Electric Power Company said yesterday as it strives to ensure damaged reactors are stable enough for work to start on dismantling them.
Experts said the incident, which follows smaller leaks last weekend, is not a big setback to getting the plant under control but the timing is awkward for the government as it strives to win public acceptance for the restart of reactors elsewhere to avoid a summer power crunch.
The Fukushima Daiichi plant, on the coast 240km northeast of Tokyo, was wrecked by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, triggering reactor meltdowns and radiation leaks that caused mass evacuations and widespread contamination.
The leak discovered late on Tuesday was from a pipe at the plant's No.4 reactor that may have burst after freezing due to cold weather, said a spokesman for the utility, known as Tepco. He said leaking water would go into a drain leading to a storage facility.
It contained only a tiny amount of radiation compared with the huge amount of water used to cool the reactors in the aftermath of the March disaster, much of which is still being treated at the plant to lower its radiation level, he said.
Experts said the incident, which follows smaller leaks last weekend, is not a big setback to getting the plant under control but the timing is awkward for the government as it strives to win public acceptance for the restart of reactors elsewhere to avoid a summer power crunch.
The Fukushima Daiichi plant, on the coast 240km northeast of Tokyo, was wrecked by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, triggering reactor meltdowns and radiation leaks that caused mass evacuations and widespread contamination.
The leak discovered late on Tuesday was from a pipe at the plant's No.4 reactor that may have burst after freezing due to cold weather, said a spokesman for the utility, known as Tepco. He said leaking water would go into a drain leading to a storage facility.
It contained only a tiny amount of radiation compared with the huge amount of water used to cool the reactors in the aftermath of the March disaster, much of which is still being treated at the plant to lower its radiation level, he said.
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