PHOTO/ Media gets 1st look into Fukushima No. 2 nuke plant

NARAHA, Fukushima Prefecture--Reporters were allowed inside the Fukushima No. 2 nuclear power plant on Feb. 8 for the first time since it was damaged by the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami last March.

The No. 2 plant, which is operated by Tokyo Electric Power Co. and spans towns of Naraha and Tomioka, was spared the meltdowns and hydrogen explosions that wrecked the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.

However, its cooling facilities were damaged by the March 11 tsunami. As a result, the plant was rated “Level 3” on the International Nuclear Event Scale.

On Feb. 8, officials from Fukushima prefectural authorities and the Naraha and Tomioka town governments held on-site inspections in the Fukushima No. 2 nuclear power plant, where traces of damage could still be seen.

In accordance with inspections on the No. 1 and No. 4 reactor buildings, interior portions and facilities near the coast were opened to the media.

On Feb. 8, the Fukushima prefectural government demanded again that TEPCO decommission all four reactors at the Fukushima No. 2 plant.

At the time of the March 11 disaster, all four reactors were in operation. Although the reactor operations were automatically suspended, equipment, such as pumps, were damaged by the tsunami.

Three of the four reactors lost cooling functions. It took nearly four days for TEPCO to bring a “cold shutdown” to each of the four reactors.

On Feb. 8, traces of the inundation could still be seen on the walls of the reactor buildings. Bent shutters and water intake equipment were also seen along the coast. Cables for electricity have been laid inside and outside the buildings. Sandbags were also piled up to serve as coastal levees.

Damage to the No. 2 plant was not as serious as in the No. 1 plant, mainly because the tsunami struck less forcefully.

It retained part of its power supply, enabling TEPCO to pump in water to cool the reactors and begin reconstruction work.