The operator of the devastated Fukushima nuclear power plant says cooling water levels in two of its reactors have fallen since a powerful earthquake hit the area last weekend, indicating possible additional damage.
TOKYO – Cooling water levels have dropped in two reactors at the devastated Fukushima nuclear power plant since a powerful earthquake hit the area last weekend, pointing to possible additional damage, the operator said Friday.
New damage could further complicate the factory’s already difficult decommissioning process, expected to take decades.
Keisuke Matsuo, spokesman for Tokyo Electric Power Co., said the drop in water levels in Unit 1 and 3 reactors indicates that existing damage to their primary containment chambers was exacerbated by Saturday’s magnitude 7.3 earthquake, causing more water leaked.
The leaked water is believed to have remained in the reactor buildings and there is no sign of any external impact, he said.
In 2011, a powerful magnitude 9.1 earthquake and tsunami damaged the cooling systems at the Fukushima plant, melting three reactor cores and falling nuclear fuel to the bottom of their primary containment vessels.
TEPCO will monitor the water and temperatures at the bottom of the containment vessels, Matsuo said.
Since the 2011 disaster, cooling water has been continuously escaping from the damaged primary containment vessels to the basements of the reactor buildings. To compensate for the loss, additional cooling water is pumped into the reactors to cool the molten fuel that remains in them. The recent drop in water levels indicates that more water is leaking out than before, TEPCO said.
According to the Fire and Disaster Management Agency, more than 180 people suffered mainly minor injuries from Saturday’s earthquake. The earthquake also caused landslides, damaged homes, and a high-speed train, and caused widespread disruptions to power and water supplies.
TEPCO initially reported that there was no anomaly at the plant after Saturday’s earthquake.
Matsuo said the cooling water level dropped as much as 70 centimeters (27 inches) in the primary containment chamber of the Unit 1 reactor and about 30 centimeters (11 inches) in Unit 3. TEPCO was unable to detect a drop in Unit 2. because indicators have been removed in preparation for the removal of molten debris, he said.
Increased leakage may require more cooling water to be pumped into the reactors, which would result in more contaminated water being treated and stored in huge tanks at the plant. TEPCO says the storage capacity of 1.37 million tons will be full next summer. A government panel’s recommendation to release it gradually into the sea met fierce opposition from local residents, and a decision is still pending.
Meanwhile, the Tokyo Supreme Court on Friday held both the government and TEPCO responsible for the 2011 nuclear disaster and ordered both to pay approximately 280 million yen ($ 2.6 million) in compensation to more than 40 plaintiffs who were forced to evacuate to Chiba, near Tokyo. for their lost livelihoods and homes.
Friday’s decision overturns a previous ruling by Chiba District Court, excluding the government from responsibility. Judge Yukio Shirai said the government could have foreseen the risk of a massive tsunami and taken action after a long-term assessment in 2002 of seismic activity.
Lawyers representing the plaintiffs welcomed the decision and said it would affect other pending cases.
“The case raises the question of whether we should tolerate a society that prioritizes economic activities over people’s lives and health,” said Izutaro Mangi, a lawyer representing the plaintiffs.