Crews have restarted a system to decontaminate and reuse water for core cooling at the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant after another set of leaks forced it to shut down.
After a testing period lengthened by the discovery of leaks and higher-than-expected radiation accumulation, Fukushima's new treatment system started recirculating decontaminated water into reactor cores on Monday afternoon, Japan time. After only 90 minutes, though, the operation stopped because of a leaking pipe joint. The Asahi Shimbun newspaper reported that a metric ton of water leaked from the joint, and crews had to check some 100 pipe fittings using the same design.
Agence France Press quoted TEPCO as saying the injection of treated water into units 1 through 3 resumed at 3:55 p.m., Tuesday. Later, Kyodo News reported a much shorter suspension of operation following another leak in a hose, with treatment restarted today.
Water treatment is a critical step to bringing damaged reactors and spent fuel storage under control at the plant blacked out by Japan's March 11 earthquake and tsunami. Outside water injected into damaged reactor cores to cool them has been accumulating in plant basements. In order to remove the irradiated water preventing work on plant safety systems, the treatment system engineered by Areva, Veolia Water and Kurion will be used to filter radioactive contaminants from water and reinject it into the reactors.