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| Nuclear Plant in Japan Has Leak in Other Tank | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| The operator of Japan’s crippled nuclear plant halted an emergency operation Tuesday to pump thousands of gallons of radioactive water from a leaking underground storage pool after workers discovered that a similar pool, to which the water was being transferred, was also leaking. | The operator of Japan’s crippled nuclear plant halted an emergency operation Tuesday to pump thousands of gallons of radioactive water from a leaking underground storage pool after workers discovered that a similar pool, to which the water was being transferred, was also leaking. |
| At least three of seven underground chambers at the site are now seeping radioactive water, leaving the Tokyo Electric Power Company with few options on where to store the huge amounts of contaminated runoff from the makeshift cooling systems at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. | At least three of seven underground chambers at the site are now seeping radioactive water, leaving the Tokyo Electric Power Company with few options on where to store the huge amounts of contaminated runoff from the makeshift cooling systems at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. |
| Those systems were put in place after a large earthquake and tsunami damaged the plant’s regular cooling systems two years ago, causing fuel at three of its reactors to melt and prompting 160,000 people to evacuate their homes. Since then, the Tokyo Electric Power Company, or Tepco, has been flooding the damaged reactor cores to cool and stabilize the fuel. | Those systems were put in place after a large earthquake and tsunami damaged the plant’s regular cooling systems two years ago, causing fuel at three of its reactors to melt and prompting 160,000 people to evacuate their homes. Since then, the Tokyo Electric Power Company, or Tepco, has been flooding the damaged reactor cores to cool and stabilize the fuel. |
| But Tepco has struggled to find space to store the runoff water. It initially released what it said was low-level contaminated water into the Pacific Ocean, igniting furious criticism among neighbors and environmental activists. Traces of radioactive cesium were later found in bluefin tuna caught off the California coast. | But Tepco has struggled to find space to store the runoff water. It initially released what it said was low-level contaminated water into the Pacific Ocean, igniting furious criticism among neighbors and environmental activists. Traces of radioactive cesium were later found in bluefin tuna caught off the California coast. |
| Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has stressed that he will not permit Tepco — which has effectively been nationalized since the disaster — to again release contaminated water into the ocean. But Tepco says it already stores more than a quarter-million tons of radioactive water in hundreds of tanks at the site, or in underground pools, and that the amount of runoff could double within three years. | Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has stressed that he will not permit Tepco — which has effectively been nationalized since the disaster — to again release contaminated water into the ocean. But Tepco says it already stores more than a quarter-million tons of radioactive water in hundreds of tanks at the site, or in underground pools, and that the amount of runoff could double within three years. |
| The company has said it is building more storage space, and also filters much of the runoff. But with its underground pools vulnerable to leaks, Tepco is being forced to hurriedly find alternatives. | The company has said it is building more storage space, and also filters much of the runoff. But with its underground pools vulnerable to leaks, Tepco is being forced to hurriedly find alternatives. |
| Workers at the plant had been emptying the No. 2 underground pool after Tepco found that about 120 tons of toxic water, or almost 32,000 gallons,had breached its inner plastic linings and seeped into the soil. Tepco said the leak appeared to be the biggest since the early months after the March 2011 disaster. | Workers at the plant had been emptying the No. 2 underground pool after Tepco found that about 120 tons of toxic water, or almost 32,000 gallons,had breached its inner plastic linings and seeped into the soil. Tepco said the leak appeared to be the biggest since the early months after the March 2011 disaster. |
| But readings around the No. 1 pool, to which the remaining water from the No. 2 pool was being transferred, suggested that it, too, was seeping water, said Masayuki Ono, general manager at Tepco’s Nuclear Power and Plant Siting Division. A third pool, the No. 3 pool, was also found to have sprung a small leak on Sunday. | But readings around the No. 1 pool, to which the remaining water from the No. 2 pool was being transferred, suggested that it, too, was seeping water, said Masayuki Ono, general manager at Tepco’s Nuclear Power and Plant Siting Division. A third pool, the No. 3 pool, was also found to have sprung a small leak on Sunday. |
| Mr. Ono said Tepco did not think that the contaminated water would reach the sea, since the pools lie about half a mile inland, but said he could not be sure. | Mr. Ono said Tepco did not think that the contaminated water would reach the sea, since the pools lie about half a mile inland, but said he could not be sure. |
| Workers will now empty both the No. 1 and No. 2 pools, and transfer them to other pools. Tepco will continue to use the No. 3 pool at less-than-full capacity, because the leak there was minor, Mr. Ono said. | Workers will now empty both the No. 1 and No. 2 pools, and transfer them to other pools. Tepco will continue to use the No. 3 pool at less-than-full capacity, because the leak there was minor, Mr. Ono said. |
| Asked whether the plant’s other underground pools might also be prone to leaking, Mr. Ono had no clear answer. | Asked whether the plant’s other underground pools might also be prone to leaking, Mr. Ono had no clear answer. |
| “We are still assessing the situation,” he said. | “We are still assessing the situation,” he said. |