Fukushima reactor cooling system operational after stoppage

April 05, 2013 01:21 pm | Updated November 16, 2021 11:58 pm IST - TOKYO

Red and white cranes stand by reactors of the tsunami-ravaged Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant in Fukushima Prefecture, northeastern Japan on March 11, 2013.

Red and white cranes stand by reactors of the tsunami-ravaged Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant in Fukushima Prefecture, northeastern Japan on March 11, 2013.

The cooling system for the spent fuel storage at one of the reactors of Japan’s stricken Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant has started working again after a stoppage, a news report said Friday.

An alarm went off at 2:27 pm (0527 GMT) indicating a problem with electrical equipment in reactor number 3, Kyodo News agency quoted the Nuclear Regulation Authority as saying.

The cooling system was restarted some two hours later, it said.

Reactors 1, 2 and 3 of the plant’s six were severely damaged in the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami, which cut off the cooling to the main reactor cores, leading to explosions and radiation leaks.

Plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) said that no leaks were confirmed.

On March 20, the cooling was interrupted for a day to the spent rod storage at reactors 1, 3 and 4. The fault was tracked down to a switchboard, which may have been damaged by a rat, TEPCO said.

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