Rat blamed for power cut in Fukushima
Source: AFP |
March 22, 2013, Friday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
A RAT may have caused a power cut that knocked out cooling systems at Japan's tsunami-wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant, an episode that highlighted the jerry-rigged nature of the fix.
Equipment keeping spent nuclear fuel at a safe temperature in four different pools was out for up to 29 hours from Monday, with Tokyo Electric Power Company admitting yesterday its recovery work was sometimes less than perfect.
The incident was a reminder of the precarious state of the plant two years after the tsunami, which sparked meltdowns in three reactors, spewing radiation over land and sea and forcing tens of thousands from their homes.
"We suspect a small animal may have caused a short-circuit in a switchboard" leading to the outage and disabling cooling systems for used fuel pools, a spokesman for TEPCO said.
"We cannot be sure exactly what it was, but can say what we saw at the scene was the body of a dead animal below the switchboard," he said.
A photograph TEPCO released showed a creature that appeared to be a rat, with a body around 15 centimeters long.
The crisis began on Monday night when power was cut at a building that serves as the central command for work to contain the nuclear accident and dismantle the reactors.
Equipment keeping spent nuclear fuel at a safe temperature in four different pools was out for up to 29 hours from Monday, with Tokyo Electric Power Company admitting yesterday its recovery work was sometimes less than perfect.
The incident was a reminder of the precarious state of the plant two years after the tsunami, which sparked meltdowns in three reactors, spewing radiation over land and sea and forcing tens of thousands from their homes.
"We suspect a small animal may have caused a short-circuit in a switchboard" leading to the outage and disabling cooling systems for used fuel pools, a spokesman for TEPCO said.
"We cannot be sure exactly what it was, but can say what we saw at the scene was the body of a dead animal below the switchboard," he said.
A photograph TEPCO released showed a creature that appeared to be a rat, with a body around 15 centimeters long.
The crisis began on Monday night when power was cut at a building that serves as the central command for work to contain the nuclear accident and dismantle the reactors.
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