Tokyo Electric Power Co. was forced to halt a system on June 27 only 90 minutes after starting that company officials hope will lead to a stable cooling of the reactors at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, as well as reducing the volume of water contaminated with radiation that is accumulating in the reactor buildings.
Tokyo Electric Power Co. was forced to halt a system on June 27 only 90 minutes after starting that company officials hope will lead to a stable cooling of the reactors at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, as well as reducing the volume of water contaminated with radiation that is accumulating in the reactor buildings.
The system to recycle purified water began from 4:20 p.m. but was shut down shortly before 6 p.m. after a leak in the line was detected.
The startup was already 12 days later than originally scheduled, due mainly to problems in the various equipment making up the water purification system.
The system will be needed to reduce the approximately 110,000 tons of contaminated water that have accumulated in the plant grounds.
Almost all of the 400 to 500 tons of water pumped daily into the reactors to cool them has become contaminated with radiation after coming into contact with nuclear fuel. The contaminated water has accumulated in the basements of reactors and other buildings.
TEPCO has installed technology provided by Areva SA of France as well as Kurion Inc. of the United States to purify the contaminated water and recycle it to cool the reactors.
In its road map to resolve the Fukushima nuclear accident, TEPCO has set July 17 as the date for achieving stable cooling of the reactors by operating the system to recycle the purified water back into the reactors.