Additional Damage to Some Containment Vessels at Nuclear Plant Due to Fukushima Earthquake

Unit 1 of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, currently undergoing decommissioning preparations.

[Asia Economy Reporter Donghoon Jeong] It has been reported that additional damage, including cracks in the containment vessels within the reactor buildings of Units 1 and 3 at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, occurred due to the magnitude 7.3 earthquake that struck off the coast of Fukushima, Japan, on the 13th.

According to major Japanese foreign media, Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), the operator of the Fukushima nuclear power plant, announced on the 19th that a decrease in water levels was confirmed on the 18th in the containment vessels housing the melted nuclear fuel at Units 1 and 3 of Fukushima Daiichi.

At Unit 1, the cooling water level, which was about 1.9 meters from the bottom of the containment vessel, dropped to between 40 and 70 centimeters, and at Unit 3, the water level, which was 6.3 meters, decreased by about 30 centimeters. The water level began to drop on the 15th for Unit 1, and for Unit 3, it started immediately after the recent earthquake. No water level decrease was confirmed at Unit 2.

TEPCO is investigating the detailed cause, considering the continuous water level decrease at a rate of several centimeters per day to be related to the recent earthquake.

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