Accident at No.3

September 22, 2012

Steel beam gets knocked into No. 3 fuel pool

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/20120923_01.html

A 7-meter long steel beam was accidently knocked into a spent nuclear fuel pool during work in the No. 3 reactor building at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

The plant operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company, says it has not discovered any serious problems as a result of the accident and the cooling system is working normally.

The accident occurred on Saturday, while workers were operating a large crane to remove debris at the No.3 reactor building. The end of the crane accidentally hit a 470 kilogram steel beam, knocking it into the cooling pool where 566 spent fuel rods are stored.

TEPCO says the dosimeter at the pool showed no irregularities. It confirmed that radiation and water levels have remained constant.
However, the plant operator plans to use an underwater camera to check if any fuel rods have been damaged.

The government's new nuclear regulatory agency says this is a grave mistake and it will investigate the accident.