The big question facing almost everyone in quake-rocked Japan now is…
… What exactly is going on with the country’s nuclear power plants?
While there haven’t been any reported radioactive leaks so far (since most plants shut down automatically during earthquakes) – some trouble is brewing with cooling systems at Tokyo Electric Power’s Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear power plant.
The plant is located here — not to too far from Japan’s capital, Tokyo:
And this is the latest from Reuters:
RTRS – TEPCO 9501.T: CONFIRMS FALLING TREND IN WATER LEVELS AT FUKUSHIMA DAIICHI NUCLEAR PLANT
RTRS- TEPCO 9501.T: TRYING TO MAINTAIN WATER LEVELS AT NUCLEAR PLANT TO AVERT EXPOSURE OF FUEL RODS
The company is trying to restore emergency power so as to pump water to the inside of the reactors, but Japanese authorities have still had to issue a state of emergency.
About 2,000 residents near the plant have also been advised to evacuate.
Some more background from Reuters follows here:
The International Atomic Energy Agency is scrambling for details from contacts with Japan’s industry ministry, while saying in a statement that at least four nuclear power plants ”closest to the quake have been safely shut down” after the 2:46 p.m. quake with a magnitude 8.8. According to the ministry, a total of 11 nuclear reactors were automatically shut down at the Onagawa plant, Fukushima No. 1 and No. 2 plants and Tokai No. 2 plant after the biggest-magnitude quake in the country’s modern history.
The ministry said there were no immediate reports from monitoring posts of abnormalities near the nuclear plants. But a fire started at a building housing the turbine at the Onagawa plant in Miyagi operated by Tohoku Electric Power Co., the company said, denying it detected any signs of radiation leaks. Prime Minister Naoto Kan made the declaration so authorities can easily implement emergency relief measures, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano told a press conference.
We’ll keep you posted on developments.
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And here, courtesy of the Petroleum Economist, is a useful map showing the distribution of nuclear power plants in Japan:
Related links:
Boiling water reactor safety systems – Wikipedia
Devastating earthquake hits Japan – FT