Fukushima nuclear plant leaked radioactive water; no one injured

“Highly radioactive water leaked from a treatment machine at the tsunami-hit Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, but no one was injured and radiation monitoring shows no impact to the outside environment,” the utility operator said on February 8.

“Highly radioactive water leaked from a treatment machine at the tsunami-hit Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, but no one was injured and radiation monitoring shows no impact to the outside environment,” the utility operator said on February 8.

“A plant worker found the leak on Wednesday morning (February 7) during valve checks at a SARRY treatment machine designed to mainly remove cesium and strontium from the contaminated water,” the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) Holdings said. The machine has been idled for maintenance work.

“An estimated 5.5 metric tonnes (6 tonnes) of radioactive water — enough to fill two ordinary backyard swimming pools — leaked out through an air vent, leaving a pool of water on an iron plate outside and seeping into the soil around it,” TEPCO said, but no radioactive water escaped the compound.

“Radioactivity of the leaked water was 10 times the legally releasable limit,” TEPCO said. “The pool of water had been wiped off and the contaminated soil is being removed,” TEPCO spokesperson Kenichi Takahara said.

It's not clear when the machine began leaking, but TEPCO said that no problems were detected in an inspection on February 6.

“The leak may have been caused by valves left open while workers flushed the machine with filtered water — a process intended to reduce radiation levels before the maintenance work,” Mr. Takahara said.

TEPCO said that 10 of 16 air valves that should have been closed were left open during the flushing, and the leak stopped when the valves were closed. Radiation levels around the plant and inside gutters on the compound have showed no increase.