Tokyo Electric Power Co said on Wednesday that it had found radioactive coolant water leaking from a broken pipe in the Number 4 reactor of the crisis-hit Fukushima Dai-ichi power plant, but added that the liquid had not flowed outside the reactor building.
At the time of the devastating earthquake and tsunami last March 11, the reactor's fuel rods were in its spent fuel pool due to maintenance work. However, the leaked coolant water contains radioactive materials as it is connected with the pool's coolant.
According to TEPCO, about six litres of water leaked onto the floor of the Number 4 unit building at 10:30 p.m. on Tuesday. The leak was stopped at 10:43 p.m. by closing a valve, said officials.
ADVERTISEMENT
The utility is looking into the cause of the damage to the pipe and believes it may have some connection with the recent cold weather or the explosions that took place at the plant in the early phase of the nuclear crisis.