JAPAN: Steam rising from reactor building in Fukushima

Record ID: 216048

  • Title: JAPAN: Steam rising from reactor building in Fukushima
  • Date: 18th July 2013
  • Summary: TOKYO, JAPAN (JULY 18, 2013) (REUTERS) TOKYO HEADQUARTERS OF TOKYO ELECTRIC POWER COMPANY (TEPCO) CAMERAMAN FILMING NEWS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) GENERAL MANAGER AT TOKYO ELECTRIC POWER COMPANY, MASAYUKI ONO, SAYING: "The temperature of the top part of the nuclear pressure vessel is normally 30 to 40 degrees celsius, which is the same as a warm bath tub - so it's
  • Embargoed: 2nd August 2013 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Japan
  • Country: Japan
  • Topics: Disasters
  • Reuters ID: LVA9OVD3GNTDPFNDGYZ9J99503ZJ
  • Story Text: Steam is rising from a destroyed building that houses a reactor at Japan's crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, the operator of the plant, Tokyo Electric Power Company said on Thursday (July 18).
    The utility, widely known as Tepco, said the levels of radioactivity around the plant had remained unchanged and it was looking into what triggered the emission.
    "The temperature of the top part of the nuclear pressure vessel is normally 30 to 40 degrees celsius, which is same as a warm bath tub - so it's possible that rain water could be heated there," general manager at Tokyo Electric Power Company, Masayuki Ono, said.
    He added that an analysis of samples taken at the location showed nothing unusual.
    "We collected dust samples right next to where the steam was coming out and found nothing abnormal as all the data collected were within the normal range."
    Each reactor is surrounded by a primary containment vessel. This is made of strengthened steel four to eight inches thick. It provides the most critical line of defence against leaking radiation from the reactor.
    A massive earthquake and tsunami in 2011 killed nearly 20,000 people and set off the world's worst nuclear crisis in 25 years when the Fukushima plant was destroyed causing reactor meltdowns, hydrogen explosions and leaking radiation into the sea and air.
    The steam rising from the reactor No.3 building was spotted at 8:20 a.m. (2320 GMT) by a subcontractor who was filming the destroyed building and preparing to remove rubble from the site. It was still visible some two hours later, Yoshida said.
    The latest findings underscore the difficulties Tepco is facing in trying to keep the ravaged plant under control. About a week ago a huge spike in radioactive cesium was detected in groundwater 25 metres from the sea.
    The operator has been flushing water over the damaged reactors to keep them cool for more than two years, but contaminated water has been building up at the rate of an Olympic-size swimming pool per week.
    In April, Tepco warned it may run out of space to store the water and asked for approval to channel what it has described as groundwater with low levels of radiation around the plant and to the sea through a "bypass". Local fishermen oppose the proposal.
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