information about Fukushima published in English in Japanese media info publiée en anglais dans la presse japonaise
6 Juin 2013
June 6, 2013
Tokyo Electric Power Co. has disclosed yet another case of radioactive water leaking from an aboveground steel storage tank at the stricken Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.
It said a worker spotted water leaking at a rate of one drip per 3-4 seconds shortly after midday on June 5.
The contents were quickly moved to a nearby empty tank, one of
dozens that are being used for contaminated water transferred from underground reservoirs.
The immediate concern was whether there was a structural failure in the tank and that similar incidents could occur.
The worker patrolling the area detected the leak from a joint about 4 meters from the bottom on the side wall of a 10-meter-high tank around 12:15 p.m.
The worker tried to stop the leak by tightening bolts that hold the tank together. When that failed, water was transferred to an empty tank nearby until the water level was lower than the joint.
The leak stopped after about 4 hours. The spillage amounted to less than 1 liter, which TEPCO said would have minimal impact on the environment.
The above-ground storage tank can hold 500 tons of water.
The discovery of leaks of contaminated water from underground storage tanks in April prompted TEPCO to move quickly to build new aboveground storage tanks. Thirty-eight cylindrical tanks, made of steel plates joined together by bolts, were newly installed in May.
This process allows the tanks to be built more quickly than when welding is involved. There have been three similar leaks involving the same type of steel tanks in the past, a TEPCO official said.
The plant complex has 63 such tanks, the official said.
Contaminated water was found to be leaking from an aboveground water storage tank at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant on June 5. Tokyo Electric Power Co. said a joint marked with a white cloth is where the water was leaking from. (Provided by Tokyo Electric Power Co.)
June 6, 2013
http://mainichi.jp/english/english/newsselect/news/20130606p2g00m0dm038000c.html
TOKYO (Kyodo) -- The operator of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant said Wednesday that it found radioactive water dripping from one of the newly installed steel tanks that is being used in place of the leaky underground water storage cisterns.
The amount of leaked water is estimated to be around 1 liter. A Tokyo Electric Power Co. official told a press conference that there is no need to worry about the impact on the external environment and the company is studying the cause.
The tank was installed on the south side of the plant in May so TEPCO could transfer part of the over 20,000 tons of contaminated water held in underground cisterns, which were found to have leaks in April.
According to TEPCO, workers found radioactive water leaking from the surface of the steel tank at a rate of one drip per several seconds at 12:15 p.m. Wednesday.
The tank is built of steel plates held together by bolts and the dripping was observed at the junctions of the plates.
Tightening the bolts failed to stop the leak so TEPCO removed some of the contents inside the troubled container so the height of the water was lower than the point where the leak occurred.
TEPCO spokesman Masayuki Ono said the latest incident will not cause the company to drastically change its handling of radioactive water that is accumulating at the site as a result of it being injected into the three crippled reactors to keep them cool.
Ono also said there were three similar leaks involving the same type of steel tanks in 2012.
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