TOKYO (AP) – Cooling water levels have fallen in two reactors in the Fukushima nuclear power plant wreck since a powerful earthquake hit the area last weekend, indicating possible additional damage, he said Friday its operator.
The new damage could further complicate the already difficult process of dismantling the plant, which is expected to take decades.
Tokyo Electric Power Co. spokesman Keisuke Matsuo said falling water levels in Unit 1 and 3 reactors indicate that damage to its primary containment chambers was exacerbated by the earthquake. magnitude 7.3 on Saturday, which allowed more water to seep through.
Filtered water is believed to have remained inside the reactor buildings and there is no indication of any external impact, he said.
In 2011, a magnitude 9.1 earthquake and tsunami damaged the cooling systems of the Fukushima plant and caused three reactor cores to melt and nuclear fuel to fall to the bottom of its primary containment vessels.
TEPCO will monitor water and temperatures at the bottom of the containment vessels, Matsuo said.
Since the 2011 disaster, cooling water has been constantly escaping from damaged primary containment vessels in the basements of reactor buildings. To compensate for the loss, additional cooling water has been pumped into the reactors to cool the molten fuel left inside. The recent decline in water levels indicates that more water is being filtered than before, TEPCO said.
More than 180 people were mostly injured slightly by Saturday’s quake, according to the Fire and Disaster Management Agency. The quake also caused landslides, damage to homes and a high-speed train line, and caused widespread disruptions to water and electricity supplies.
TEPCO initially reported that there had been no anomalies in the plant since Saturday’s earthquake.
Matsuo said the cooling water level dropped to 70 centimeters (27 inches) in the primary containment chamber of the Unit 1 reactor and about 30 centimeters (11 inches) in the Unit 3. TEPCO did not be able to determine any decrease in Unit 2 because indicators were removed to prepare for the disposal of molten waste, he said.
An increase in leaks may require more cooling water to be pumped into the reactors, resulting in more polluted water being treated and stored in huge tanks at the plant. TEPCO says its 1.37 million tonne storage capacity will be full next summer. The recommendation of a government group to be gradually released into the sea has faced fierce opposition from local residents and a decision is still pending.
Meanwhile, the Tokyo High Court on Friday blamed the government and TEPCO for the 2011 nuclear disaster, and ordered both to pay about 280 million yen ($ 2.6 million) in compensation to more than 40 plaintiffs forced to evacuate. in Chiba, near Tokyo, for their livelihoods and lost homes.
Friday’s decision overturns an earlier ruling by the Chiba district court that excluded the government from liability. Judge Yukio Shirai said the government could have predicted the risk of a massive tsunami and take action after a long-term assessment of seismic activities in 2002.
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 representing the plaintiffs.