Water level drops at Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Units 1 and 3

February 19, 2021

The Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) has announced that the water level inside the containment vessels of the Unit 1 and Unit 3 reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, which are filled with water to cool down the melted down nuclear fuel, is dropping.
There is a possibility that a broken part of the containment vessel expanded after the earthquake on the 13th of this month, increasing the amount of water leaking out, but there has been no noticeable change in the values of monitoring posts, etc., and there is no impact on the outside.

According to the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), at around 11:00 p.m. on the 18th, it was confirmed that the water level in the containment vessel of the Unit 1 reactor, which is used to cool down the melted down nuclear fuel, had dropped.
TEPCO confirmed the data and found that the water level has been declining since the 15th of this month in the Unit 1 reactor and since the 17th in the Unit 3 reactor.
The water level in the Unit 1 reactor is estimated to have dropped by 40 to 70 centimeters, and in the Unit 3 reactor by about 30 centimeters.
However, the thermometers installed at the bottom of the reactors do not show any rise in temperature, there is no noticeable change in the radiation level inside the containment vessel, and there is no abnormality in the values of the monitoring posts installed at the site boundary. There is no problem with the cooling of the nuclear fuel and no external impact.
The containment vessel was broken during the accident at the nuclear power plant, and a certain amount of cooling water that is poured into the vessel usually leaks out, but the earthquake on the 13th of this month may have widened the damaged area and increased the amount that leaked out.
In the towns of Okuma and Futaba, where the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant is located, a tremor of lower 6 on the Japanese intensity scale was observed.
If the water level continues to drop, TEPCO is considering increasing the water injection rate, which is currently set at 3 cubic meters per hour.

https://www3.nhk.or.jp/lnews/fukushima/20210219/6050013511.html?fbclid=IwAR0CjCLPZXz2hBtGGcV4DghnfenN5vssaY4zj-XGsOh7SeX_gFqtiVuaEqc

February 21, 2021 - Posted by dunrenard | Fukushima 2021 | Containment vessels, Earthquake, Fukushima Daiichi, Leaks