25-tonne radioactive water leak in Japan's Fukushima-1 confirmed
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TEPCO has alerted the IAEA of the leak and informed the agency that there were no indicators of leaking in other rooms.
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The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, damaged by a massive March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami, is seen from the nearby Ukedo fishing port in Namie town, northeastern Japan on August 24, 2023. (AP)
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reported that the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) identified a radioactive water leak of approximately 25 tonnes in the second reactor building of the Fukushima-1 nuclear power plant in northeastern Japan.
The agency said in a statement released on Thursday that the IAEA was notified about a water leak "at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station Unit 2, involving an estimated 25 tons of water from the spent fuel cooling system pump room and the heat exchanger room," adding that the water flowed "into a drain on the floor connected to the water collection pit (floor sump) located in a room on the first basement floor."
TEPCO also alerted the agency that there were no indicators of leaking in other rooms. TEPCO suspended the spent fuel primary cooling pump to investigate the reason and found that the pool temperature was within normal limits, not surpassing 46 degrees (114.8 degrees Fahrenheit), according to the statement.
The statement explained that "this is below the 65 degrees Celsius limitation of operation. The level of accumulated water in the room had stopped rising and therefore determined that the water leakage had stopped."
According to the statement, the leaking water within the building will be handled by the Japanese power company using its water treatment facilities.
In February, the Fukushima Central Television (FCT) reported on an announcement by TEPCO regarding a new leak of contaminated water from radioactive water treatment equipment.
The leak was detected by a station employee during an inspection of the equipment. They found that 10 out of 16 valves were open when they should have been closed.
According to TEPCO, it is estimated that the volume of water is 5.5 tonnes - containing radionuclides, radioactive cesium, and strontium, while the content of radioactive substances is anticipated at 22 billion becquerels.
In March 2011, Fukushima suffered one of the world's worst nuclear disasters since Chornobyl after a tsunami rocked the islands.
About 1.33 million cubic meters of groundwater, rainwater, and water that was used for cooling the three damaged reactors at the Fukushima site were released in August last year.
To remove the radioactive elements, plant operator TEPCO treated the water using its ALPS processing systems, which several neighboring countries have expressed skepticism regarding the system's reliability.
