Tokyo Electric Power, which operates the tsunami-hit Fukushima nuclear plant, is investigating the cause and is unsure, when the system will be restarted, company representative Junichi Matsumoto said.
Fresh water is being pumped in to cool damaged reactor cores, and is being contaminated in the process. Some 105,000 tons of highly radioactive water have pooled across the plant, and could overflow within a couple of weeks if action is not taken.
The water treatment system is to be eventually connected to a cooling system so the treated water can be reused. However, treating the water will create an additional headache; tons of highly radioactive sludge will require a separate long-term storage space.
The Fukushima crisis shattered Japan’s confidence in the safety of nuclear energy and prompted anti-nuclear sentiment. Nevertheless, there are also concerns that Japan will face a serious summertime power crunch unless more of its reactors get back on line.
Moreover, resumption of about a dozen reactors undergoing regular checkups is up in the air amid growing local residents‘ fear of nuclear accidents. Many of the plants’ hometown officials have said restarting any pending reactors would be impossible amid the ongoing crisis.
The Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency instructed Japanese nuclear operators to improve their preparedness for severe accidents earlier this month and conducted nationwide on-site inspections this week.
Japanese nuclear plant operators have already taken other steps to improve accident management since the disaster to maintain core-cooling capacity during blackouts.
(아주경제 앤드류 이 기자)
reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com