nuclear-news

A critical problem: no cooling system now working at Fukushima No.5 fuel pool

Fox News: “Leak at Fukushima nuclear plant threatens dangerous meltdown… Trouble is looming” — Officials: “No idea when it can resume cooling system for spent fuel pool” (PHOTOS) http://enenews.com/fox-news-leak-at-fukushima-nuclear-plant-threatens-dangerous-meltdown-trouble-is-looming-officials-no-idea-when-it-can-resume-cooling-system-for-spent-fuel-pool-photos

NHK WORLD, Jul. 7, 2014: No prospect to resume cooling No.5 fuel pool — The operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant says it has no idea when it can resume the cooling system for one of the spent fuel pools. [TEPCO] halted the cooling system at the No.5 reactor on Sunday after workers found seawater leaking from a pipe. Seawater is used to lower the temperature of coolant water […] they are still considering how to repair the pipe. […] TEPCO says the temperature will reach the company’s safety limit of 65 degrees in a little over a week. The operator plans to channel seawater into the pool to curb the rise in temperature.

Fox News, Jul. 7, 2014: Leak at Fukushima nuclear plant threatens dangerous meltdown — Trouble is looming at Japan’s Fukushima nuclear plant, as a leak has forced the shutdown of a cooling system that could cause temperatures to exceed dangerous levels. […] If the system is not repaired within the next nine days, temperatures are expected to soar […] Sunday, the temperature in the pool that holds the rods was about 73 degrees Fahrenheit but started increasing by 0.193 degrees per hour, TEPCO says. If no new cold water is pumped in at this rate, it will reach the dangerous threshold of 149 degrees (F) in roughly the next week. Such temperatures would increase the possibility of dangerous reactions and more radiation leaks in the plant.

See photos of the leak here

July 9, 2014 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | Fukushima 2014