Robot inspections allay fears of Fukushima leakage

• 13 years ago (2011-04-28)
• Junior Isles

Asia 847 Nuclear 639

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Remote-controlled robots have found that one of the reactors at the stricken Fukushima Daiichi Japanese nuclear power plant was not leaking water as feared, according to news reports on Wednesday April 27th.

Tokyo Electric Power Co (Tepco) began inspecting reactor No. 1 late Tuesday after data indicated a leak of radioactive water, possibly pushed out by nitrogen being pumped in to reduce the risk of a hydrogen explosion.

The operators said the robots found no “notable water leakage” during a two-hour survey. Tepco said it would keep checking the integrity of the reactor by measuring the pressure and other factors as more water was injected, Kyodo News reported.

The checks, however, have not eliminated the possibility of a leak, Hidehiko Nishiyama, a spokesman for the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency, told a news conference. The robots only inspected part of the reactor building, he said.

Tepco said it would increase the amount of water injected into reactor 1 on a trial basis, with the aim of fully submerging the fuel rods, which are at risk of overheating.