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A hydrogen explosion occurred at Tokyo Electric Power Co.’s Fukushima Dai-Ichi No. 3 reactor at 11:01 a.m. local time today, Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said.
Tokyo Electric spokesman Daisuke Hirose said smoke was seen rising from the reactor. Japan’s Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency reported earlier pressure at the reactor had fallen and Prime Minister Naoto Kan said the situation remains a concern.
The pressure declined after rising earlier today, Hidehiko Nishiyama, deputy director-general at the safety agency, said at a media briefing. The Fukushima Dai-Ichi station lies 220 kilometers (135 miles) north of the Japanese capital.
Asia’s largest utility is seeking to avoid a meltdown of at least two reactors at the nuclear power station by flooding them with water and boric acid to eliminate the potential for a catastrophic release of radiation into the atmosphere. The station lost power to keep the reactor core cool after the March 11 earthquake, the largest ever recorded in Japan.
On March 12 a hydrogen leak caused a blast that destroyed the walls of the No. 1 reactor. Four workers were injured in the explosion, while no damage was reported to the container holding the reactor’s radioactive core, according to Tokyo Electric.
Winds in the area of the Fukushima plant are blowing at less than 10 kilometers (6 miles) per hour generally in an northeasterly and northerly direction, according to a 9 a.m. update from the Japan Meteorological Agency today.
To contact the reporters on this story: Yuji Okada in Tokyo at yokada6@bloomberg.net; Shigeru Sato in Tokyo at ssato10@bloomberg.net;
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Amit Prakash at aprakash1@bloomberg.net.
Tokyo Electric spokesman Daisuke Hirose said smoke was seen rising from the reactor. Japan’s Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency reported earlier pressure at the reactor had fallen and Prime Minister Naoto Kan said the situation remains a concern.
The pressure declined after rising earlier today, Hidehiko Nishiyama, deputy director-general at the safety agency, said at a media briefing. The Fukushima Dai-Ichi station lies 220 kilometers (135 miles) north of the Japanese capital.
Asia’s largest utility is seeking to avoid a meltdown of at least two reactors at the nuclear power station by flooding them with water and boric acid to eliminate the potential for a catastrophic release of radiation into the atmosphere. The station lost power to keep the reactor core cool after the March 11 earthquake, the largest ever recorded in Japan.
On March 12 a hydrogen leak caused a blast that destroyed the walls of the No. 1 reactor. Four workers were injured in the explosion, while no damage was reported to the container holding the reactor’s radioactive core, according to Tokyo Electric.
Winds in the area of the Fukushima plant are blowing at less than 10 kilometers (6 miles) per hour generally in an northeasterly and northerly direction, according to a 9 a.m. update from the Japan Meteorological Agency today.
To contact the reporters on this story: Yuji Okada in Tokyo at yokada6@bloomberg.net; Shigeru Sato in Tokyo at ssato10@bloomberg.net;
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Amit Prakash at aprakash1@bloomberg.net.
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