Malfunction at Fukushima Daini

 March 7, 2014

Govt. monitor fails to show Fukushima Daini data

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/news/20140307_13.html 

Japan's nuclear regulator is investigating a malfunction in a system that monitors nuclear power plants around the country.

The Nuclear Regulation Authority uses a system called Emergency Response Support System, or ERSS, to monitor the pressures and temperatures in reactors nationwide.

On Thursday night, data on the Fukushima Daini plant's Numbers 2 and 3 reactors stopped appearing on the system. The plant, 10 kilometers south of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi, has been offline since the Daiichi accident 3 years ago.

The agency has instructed the plant's operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company, to send data on the 2 reactors by fax. It is also trying to determine the cause of the glitch.

The regulator says the temperature inside the 2 reactors is stable at around 20 to 30 degrees Celsius.

A similar problem occurred 2 years ago at the same plant. Last year, a problem with the ERSS was reported with the Monju fast-breeder reactor in central Japan, which was also off-line.

The ERSS failed to work at the time of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident in 2011 due to a power blackout at the plant and a lack of emergency power units.

Mar. 7, 2014 - Updated 01:06 UTC