Radioactive Water Leaks From Japan's Fukushima Nuclear Plant After Plant Workers Leave 10 Valves Open
Radioactive Water Leaks From Japan's Fukushima Nuclear Plant After Plant Workers Leave 10 Valves Open
The leak is not related to the discharge of the Advanced Liquid Processing System (ALPS) treated water.
TOKYO - An estimated 5,500 liters of radioactive water has leaked from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (FDNPS) from a valve that had been left open as the absorption tower was being cleaned. Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, Inc. said on Thursday that 10 manual valves were left open by workers.
According to the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the leak is not related to the discharge of the Advanced Liquid Processing System (ALPS) treated water.
The Chinese Embassy released a statement on the incident saying that Japan’s “repeated accidents” during the process of treating Fukushima nuclear-contaminated water have “fully exposed the chaos and disorder of TEPCO’s internal management”.
The Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) has reported that there was no sign of contamination outside of the facility but will be removing the potentially contaminated soil in the area where the leak was detected.
The Japan News has reported that 10 manual valves that workers at the plant were supposed to close were open at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant when water leaked from a pipe at the plant, believed to have come from “open valves”.
A spokeswoman from TEPCO said, "We estimate that roughly 5.5 metric tons (5,500 liters) of water leaked" Wednesday, but added that "there have been no significant changes".
The operator for the nuclear power station informed the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that there had been a leak of radioactive water from a caesium absorption tower at the plant of around 5.5 cubic meters (m3) after a valve was left open during "cleaning work" according to an IAEA statement.
