nuclear-news

Fukushima Daiichi Frozen Wall Leaks

Fukushima nuclear plant’s frozen wall leaks

Jan. 17, 2020

Tokyo Electric Power Company says coolant has seeped out from an underground frozen soil wall built around its crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.

The frozen soil wall came into operation four years ago. It was built to keep groundwater from flowing into reactor buildings. They were damaged by the March 2011 earthquake, tsunami and subsequent nuclear meltdowns.

The utility firm, TEPCO, says it found coolant leaking at three locations from components that connect pipes in the wall. The company had noticed a reduction in coolant in its tank earlier this month and was searching for the cause.

TEPCO says it believes 20,000 of 1.1 million liters of the coolant has leaked, but that this will not affect the operation of the wall.

The company says it will replace the components in the wall and repair another leak that was found in December.

https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20200117_10/

Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station is seen in Okuma, Fukushima Prefecture, in this photo taken from a Mainichi Shimbun helicopter in August 2019.

Four coolant leaks found in Fukushima nuke plant ‘ice wall’ pipes

January 17, 2020

TOKYO — Coolant has been found leaking from pipes in the underground wall of frozen soil surrounding reactor buildings at the tsunami-ravaged Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station at four locations, its operator said.

According to Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, Inc. (TEPCO), the coolant liquid contains calcium chloride, commonly used as a snow-melting agent, and is not an environmental contaminant.

The utility has confirmed that a total of about 20 cubic meters of the coolant has leaked from the pipes. Though the coolant supply to the leaking pipes has been halted, TEPCO does not expect the ice wall to suffer any loss of function. The pipes concerned are between the plant’s No. 2 and No. 3 reactor buildings.

TEPCO noticed the problem in late 2019 when the volume in a coolant tank dropped abnormally. Workers examined the ice wall piping and found leaks in the joints. The company is poised to investigate the cause of the leak and replace the problematic parts.

The utility started the operation of the underground wall of frozen soil at the stricken complex in 2016. Coolant chilled to minutes 30 degrees Celsius is circulated through buried pipes, freezing the soil around the reactor buildings to prevent ground water from flowing into the structures

https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20200117/p2a/00m/0na/022000c

January 21, 2020 - Posted by dunrenard | Fukushima 2020 | Fukushima Daiichi, Ice wall, Leaks