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Fukushima Reactor’s Cooling System Briefly Stalls Fukushima Reactor’s Cooling System Briefly Stalls
(about 7 hours later)
TOKYO — The operator of Japan’s wrecked nuclear plant said Monday that a pump used to cool one of the damaged reactors had stopped, possibly because of human error, in the latest mishap at the problem-plagued facility. TOKYO — The operator of Japan’s wrecked nuclear plant said on Monday that a pump used to cool one of the damaged reactors had stopped, possibly because of human error, in the latest problem at the facility.
The operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company, or Tepco, said that it was able to use a backup pump to immediately restart cooling after the halt Monday morning. The stopped pump served the No. 1 unit, one of three reactors destroyed when a huge earthquake and tsunami knocked out cooling systems at the Fukushima Daiichi plant in March 2011. During the original accident, the fuel cores in the overheating reactors melted down, causing violent explosions that destroyed the reactor buildings. The operator, the Tokyo Electric Power Company, or Tepco, said it was able to use a backup pump to restart cooling immediately on Monday morning.
The pump that halted Monday was part of a makeshift cooling system that Tepco devised after the accident to dump hundreds of tons of water daily onto the three damaged reactor cores, to prevent them from reheating. Tepco said the stoppage may have been due to a faulty electric switchboard, a problem that has shut down cooling systems at the plant before. The stopped pump served the No. 1 unit, one of three reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi plant that were destroyed in March 2011 when a huge earthquake and tsunami knocked out cooling systems. The fuel cores in the overheating reactors melted down, causing violent explosions that destroyed the reactor buildings.
However, in a separate release, the Nuclear Regulation Authority, the government’s nuclear watchdog, gave an alternative explanation, saying that a worker may have accidentally shut down the main pump by hitting the stop button during a routine checkup. The pump that halted on Monday was part of a makeshift cooling system that dumps hundreds of tons of water a day onto the three damaged reactor cores. Tepco said the stoppage might have been due to a faulty electric switchboard, a problem that has shut down the cooling systems before.
Either way, the mishap is the latest in a string of power failures, leaks of contaminated water and shoddy construction that have undermined public faith in the ability of Tepco to handle the plant’s cleanup, prompting the government to intervene. Last week, the company said workers had spilled 114 gallons of radioactive water when they mistakenly tried to put water in a tank that was already full. However, the Nuclear Regulation Authority, the government’s nuclear watchdog, gave an alternate explanation in a news release, saying a worker might have accidentally shut down the main pump by hitting the stop button during a routine check.
Either way, the incident is the latest in a string that has undermined public faith in the ability of Tepco to handle the plant’s cleanup, prompting the government to intervene. Last week, the company said workers had spilled 114 gallons of radioactive water when they mistakenly tried to put water in a tank that was already full.