The operator of the destroyed Fukushima nuclear power plant said cooling water levels have dropped in two of its reactors since a powerful earthquake struck the area last weekend, indicating possible further damage.
TOKYO – Cooling water levels have dropped in two reactors at the destroyed Fukushima nuclear power plant since a powerful earthquake struck the area last weekend, indicating possible further damage, its operator said on Friday.
Further damage could further complicate the plant’s already difficult decommissioning process, which is expected to take decades.
Tokyo Electric Power Co. spokesman Keisuke Matsuo said the drop in water levels in the reactors at Units 1 and 3 indicates that the damage to their primary containment chambers was exacerbated by the 7.3 magnitude earthquake in the Saturday, allowing more water to drain.
The leaked water is believed to have remained inside the reactor buildings and there are no signs of external impact, he said.
In 2011, a powerful magnitude 9.1 earthquake and tsunami damaged the cooling systems at the Fukushima plant, causing three reactor cores to melt and nuclear fuel to fall to the bottom of their primary containment containers.
TEPCO will monitor the water and temperatures at the bottom of the containment vessels, said Matsuo.
Since the 2011 disaster, cooling water has been constantly escaping from damaged primary containment containers into the basements of reactor buildings. To compensate for the loss, additional cooling water was pumped into the reactors to cool the molten fuel that remains inside them. The recent decline in water levels indicates that more water than before is leaking, TEPCO said.
More than 180 people received minor injuries in Saturday’s earthquake, according to the Fire and Disaster Management Agency. The earthquake also caused landslides, damaged homes and a high-speed rail line and caused widespread disruptions in the supply of energy and water.
TEPCO initially reported that there was no abnormality in the plant due to Saturday’s earthquake.
Matsuo said that the cooling water level dropped by up to 70 centimeters (27 inches) in the primary containment chamber of the Unit 1 reactor and by about 30 centimeters (11 inches) in Unit 3. TEPCO was unable to determine any decline in the Unit. 2 because the indicators were removed to prepare for the removal of the melted debris, he said.
The increase in leakage may require more cooling water to be pumped into the reactors, which would result in more contaminated water, which is treated and stored in huge tanks at the plant. TEPCO says its storage capacity of 1.37 million tonnes will be full next summer. The recommendation of a government panel to be gradually released at sea has met with fierce opposition from local residents and a decision is still pending.
Meanwhile, the Tokyo High Court on Friday held the government and TEPCO responsible for the 2011 nuclear disaster, ordering both to pay around 280 million yen ($ 2.6 million) in compensation to more than 40 plaintiffs forced to evacuate to Chiba, near Tokyo, for their livelihoods and lost homes.
Friday’s decision reverses an earlier decision by the Chiba district court that excluded the government from liability. Judge Yukio Shirai said the government could have predicted the risk of a major tsunami and taken action after a 2002 long-term assessment of seismic activities.
The 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 who represents the plaintiffs.