Fukushima cooling system fails for second time in a month
Cooling system for fuel storage pool fails at Japan’s Fukushima nuclear plant, which was severely damaged by 2011 tsunami
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Associated Press in Tokyo
guardian.co.uk, Friday 5 April 2013 09.39 BST
Fukushima nuclear plant
Decommissioning work, including the construction of storage facilities for melted fuel rods, is ongoing at the Fukushima nuclear plant. Photograph: Issei Kato/AP
The cooling system for a fuel storage pool at one of the reactors at the Fukushima nuclear plant has failed, Japanese regulators have said.
There was no immediate danger from the failure, the second at the plant in a month, they said.
The Fukushima plant was severely damaged by the March 2011 tsunami that devastated Japan’s north-east coast and suffered multiple meltdowns. It is currently in the process of being decommissioned.
A spokesman for the Nuclear Regulation Authority said an alarm went off on Friday afternoon at reactor No 3, and that the cause of the failure was still under investigation.
A spokesman for the plant’s operator said it would take two weeks before temperatures approach dangerous levels following a cooling system failure.
Last month, a power cut caused a two-day failure in a cooling system.