25 Tons of Radioactive Water Leaks at the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant in Japan

25 tons of radioactive water leaks at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant.

On August 13, 2024, Japan's Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) said that 25 tons of water containing radioactive substances leaked from the cooling pool for nuclear fuel residues at Unit 2 of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. Here are some details of the incident:

Leakage Situation: TEPCO said that there is a cooling pool for nuclear fuel residues on the fifth floor of the building where the nuclear reactor of Unit 2 is located. On August 9, workers found that the water level in the storage tank for the overflowing water from the cooling pool "decreased abnormally". Workers confirmed through cameras that "it was not a low water level in the cooling pool" but rather a leak in the storage tank, so they stopped injecting water into the cooling pool and later found that the tank was empty. When conducting an internal investigation of the building using robots, leakage traces were found on the third floor, and the leaked water volume is estimated to be 25 tons.

Water Flow Direction: TEPCO claimed that the leaked water "flowed into the basement of the building through the drain and did not flow out to the outside". However, the authenticity and reliability of this claim require further investigation and verification.

Follow-up Measures: TEPCO said that it will confirm the leak point and cause of the storage tank through robots within this week. In addition, "Although the water injection into the cooling pool has stopped, the heat of the nuclear fuel is small, the water temperature in the cooling pool has not exceeded the limit value, and when the water level is low, water can be injected into the pool through a pump".

The Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant of TEPCO has experienced many accidents such as leakage of nuclear contaminated water. Despite strong opposition at home and abroad against the decision to discharge nuclear contaminated water into the sea, the Japanese government and TEPCO still initiated the discharge of nuclear contaminated water from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant on August 24, 2023. Up to now, seven batches of nuclear contaminated water have been discharged, with a cumulative discharge volume of approximately 55,000 tons.