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Japanese nuclear plant admits 20,000 litres of oil leaked when it was hit by 10ft tsunami sparked by New Year’s Day earthquake – as officials call for drones to monitor radiation levels

• Hokuriku Electric Power reported second oil leak at Shika nuclear power station

Daily Mail, By JAMES CALLERY, 12 January 2024

A Japanese nuclear power station has admitted that 20,000 litres of oil leaked when 10ft tsunami waves slammed into the plant after the 7.6-magnitude New Year’s Day earthquake.

Shika nuclear power plant, which contains two reactors, was hit by the huge waves shortly after the powerful earthquake struck the central Ishikawa region on January 1.

Around 19,900 litres of insulating oil leaked after the transformers in the two nuclear reactors were damaged in the quake, Hokurika Electric Power, which runs the facility, said. A second oil leak was reported yesterday, raising yet more safety fears.

Water used to cool spent fuel rods was spilt and the plant’s electricity power was temporarily knocked out as a result of the 7.6-magnitude quake, which killed more than 200 people.

Though Hokuriku Electric claims that no that radiation leaked from the plant, a small number of nearby monitoring stations were taken offline by the earthquake, raising fears that there could in fact be more damage.

Nobuhiko Ban, a safety panel member at Japan’s nuclear watchdog NRA, said this is a ‘huge problem’ and proposed utilising drones and aircraft to measure radiation levels until the operator’s monitoring stations could be repaired………………………………………………………………………. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12951991/Japanese-nuclear-power-station-admits-10ft-tsunami-waves-slammed-plant-7-6-magnitude-New-Years-Day-earthquake-facility-battles-contain-oil-leaks-amid-fears-safety.html

January 14, 2024 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | Japan, safety