March 18, 2022
TOKYO – The Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant had its No. 2 reactor’s cooling system halted by Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, Inc. after abnormalities were discovered, but TEPCO resumed the system early Thursday.
The situation involved a tank connected to spent fuel pools at the plant, which is currently being decommissioned, and was apparently triggered by the strong earthquake that struck off Fukushima late Wednesday night.
After stopping the water circulation, TEPCO checked the tank and resumed the cooling system at about 7:40 a.m. Thursday. The company said that there were no notable changes in the temperature in the fuel pools.
At the No. 5 reactor, the cooling system automatically stopped shortly after the earthquake, and fire alarms were activated in the turbine building among other areas. But with no problems found, the cooling system for the No. 5 reactor had earlier been restored.
At the Fukushima No. 2 nuclear power plant, cooling pumps that circulate water in spent fuel pools of the Nos. 1 and 3 reactors temporarily stopped, but their cooling systems have also come back online.
At a meeting of the House of Councillors’ Budget Committee on Thursday morning, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said, “No trouble has been detected in the data we have received so far regarding nuclear power plants.”