Japan Quake Causes
Radioactive Water Spill from Spent Fuel Storage Pools; No Leakage
Outside
August 18, 2005 — By Associated Press
TOKYO — Water containing small
amounts of radiation spilled out of spent fuel storage pools at two
nuclear power plants in northern Japan when a powerful magnitude-7.2
earthquake shook the region, the plants' operator said Wednesday.
The water spill from the three pools -- two at Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear
Power Plant and the third at the separate No. 2 plant -- did not leak
radiation outside the compounds and workers were not exposed, Tokyo
Electric Power Co. said. Fukushima is about 260 kilometers (160 miles)
northeast of Tokyo.
Tuesday's powerful quake shook wide areas of northern Japan and injured
81 people, according to public broadcaster NHK, but there were no
deaths. Tokyo police earlier said that 60 people were injured in the
quake.
Water in spent fuel storage pools splashed against the walls during the
quake, and some entered wall-mounted ventilation duct openings, company
spokesman Hitoshi Hagiwara said. The water later dripped to the floor
from the pipes' joints, he said.
More than 24 liters (6.3 gallons) of water spilled from the three pools,
which store spent fuel from three reactors at the two plants, Hagiwara
said. The leakage has now been cleaned up, he said.
The reactors, which are located in the same buildings as the pools, were
unaffected by the quake, the company said in a statement.
Source: Associated Press |