TEPCO says no more steam

July 19, 2013

Steam coming out from Fukushima reactor building disappeared: TEPCO

http://mainichi.jp/english/english/newsselect/news/20130719p2g00m0dm067000c.html

TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Tokyo Electric Power Co. said Friday that no steam-like gas could be seen at the No. 3 reactor building at the accident-stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant following a sighting the previous day.

The plant operator initially noticed through a monitoring camera on Thursday that vapor was rising from near the central area of the top floor of the reactor building, which was severely damaged by a hydrogen explosion that occurred during the 2011 nuclear crisis.

But when it checked the same area at 7:55 a.m. Friday, it did not find any steam, according to TEPCO.

Workers cannot access the floor because the radiation level is too high and work to remove the rubble is done by remote control. Operations were suspended once the steam was observed.

TEPCO suspects that rain on Wednesday and Thursday may have found its way to the lid of the reactor's primary containment vessel and may have evaporated due to the warmth of the container.

The Nuclear Regulation Authority said in a press release Friday that it has not detected any significant changes in either the temperature of the primary containment vessel or in radiation levels at the plant.